IRLF 


SB    S3fl    7M1 


BORDER   WARS 


AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 


BY  WILLIAM   L.  STONE, 

AUTHOR    OF    THE    "LIFE   AND    TIMES    OF    RED   JACKET,"   "HIS 
TORY   OF   WYOMING,"   &C.,  &C.,  &C. 


IN     TWO     VOLUMES. 

VOL.   I. 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

329   &  331   PEARL   STREET, 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 

1857. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  by 

HARPER   &   BROTHERS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


IT  is  related  by  jiEsop,  that  a  forester  once  meet 
ing  with  a  lion,  they  travelled  together  for  a  time, 
and  conversed  amicably  without  much  differing  in 
opinion.  At  length  a  dispute  happening  to  arise 
upon  the  question  of  superiority  between  their  re 
spective  races,  the  former,  in  the  absence  of  a 
better  argument,  pointed  to  a  monument  on  which 
was  sculptured  in  marble  the  statue  of  a  man  stri 
ding  over  the  body  of  a  vanquished  lion.  "  If 
this,"  said  the  lion,  "  is  all  you  have  to  say,  let  us 
be  the  sculptors,  and  you  will  see  the  lion  striding 
over  the  man." 

The  moral  of  this  fable  should  ever  be  borne  in 
mind  when  contemplating  the  character  of  that 
brave  and  ill-used  race  of  men,  now  melting  away 
before  the  Anglo-Saxons  like  the  snow  beneath  a 
vertical  sun  —  the  aboriginals  of  America.  No 
Indian  pen  traces  the  history  of  their  tribes  and 
nations,  or  records  the  deeds  of  their  warriors  and 
chiefs — their  prowess  and  their  wrongs.  Their 
spoilers  have  been  their  historians  ;  and  although 
a  reluctant  assent  has  been  awarded  to  some  of 
the  nobler  traits  of  their  nature,  yet,  without  yield 
ing  a  due  allowance  for  the  peculiarities  of  their 
situation,  the  Indian  character  has  been  presented, 

M90350 


IV  PREFACE. 

with  singular  uniformity,  as  being  cold,  cruel,  mo. 
rose,  and  revengeful,  unrelieved  by  any  of  those 
varying  traits  and  characteristics,  those  lights  and 
shadows,  which  are  admitted  in  respect  to  other 
people  no  less  wild  and  uncivilized  than  they. 

Without  pausing  to  reflect  that,  even  when  most 
cruel,  they  have  been  practising  the  trade  of  war — 
always  dreadful — as  much  in  conformity  to  their 
own  usages  and  laws  as  have  their  more  civilized 
antagonists,  the  white  historian  has  drawn  them 
with  the  characteristics  of  demons.  Forgetting 
that  the  second  .of  the  Hebrew  monarchs  did  not 
scruple  to  saw  his  prisoners  with  saws,  and  har 
row  them  with  harrows  of  iron  ;  forgetful,  likewise, 
of  the  scenes  at  Smithfield,  under  the  direction  of 
our  own  British  ancestors,  the  historians  of  the 
poor,  untutored  Indians,  almost  with  one  accord, 
have  denounced  them  as  monsters  sui  generis  — 
of  unparalleled  and  unapproachable  barbarity — as 
though  the  summary  tomahawk  were  worse  than 
the  iron  tortures  of  the  harrow,  and  the  torch  of 
the  Mohawk  hotter  than  the  fagots  of  Queen  Mary. 

Nor  does  it  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the  "  pale- 
faced"  writers  that  the  identical  cruelties,  the  rec 
ords  and  descriptions  of  which  enter  so  largely 
into  the  composition  of  the  earlier  volumes  of 
American  history,  were  not  barbarities  in  the  esti 
mation  of  those  who  practised  them.  The  scalp- 
lock  was  an  emblem  of  chivalry.  Every  warrior, 
in  shaving  his  head  for  battle,  was  careful  to  leave 
the  lock  of  defiance  upon  his  crown,  as  for  the 
bravado,  "  Take  it  if  you  can."  The  stake  and 
the  torture  were  identified  with  their  rude  notions 
of  the  power  of  endurance.  They  were  inflicted 


PREFACE.  V 

upon  captives  of  their  own  race  as  well  as  upon 
the  whites  ;  and,  with  their  own  braves,  these  tri 
als  were  courted,  to  enable  the  sufferer  to  exhibit 
the  courage  and  fortitude  with  which  they  could  be 
borne — the  proud  scorn  with  which  all  the  pain 
that  a  foe  might  inflict  could  be  endured. 

If  the  moral  ol'  the  fable  is  applicable  to  aborigi 
nal  history  in  general,  it  is  equally  so  in  regard  to 
very  many  of  their  chiefs  whose  names  have  been 
forgotten,  or  only  known  to  be  detested.  Peculiar 
circumstances  have  given  prominence  and  fame  of 
a  certain  description  to  some  few  of  the  forest 
chieftains  :  as  in  the  instances  of  Powhatan  in  the 
South,  the  mighty  Philip  in  the  East,  and  the  great 
Pondiac  of  the  Northwest.  But  there  have  been 
many  others,  equal,  perhaps,  in  courage,  and  skill, 
and  energy  to  the  distinguished  chiefs  just  men 
tioned,  whose  names  have  been  steeped  in  infamy 
in  their  preservation,  because  "  the  lions  are  no 
sculptors."  They  have  been  described  as  ruth 
less  butchers  of  women  and  children,  without  one 
redeeming  quality,  save  those  of  animal  courage 
and  indifference  to  pain  ;  while  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  were  the  actual  truth  known,  their  characters, 
for  all  the  high  qualities  of  the  soldier,  might  sus 
tain  an  advantageous  comparison  with  those  of  half 
the  warriors  of  equal  rank  in  Christendom.  Of 
this  class  was  a  prominent  subject  of  the  present 
volumes,  whose  name  was  terrible  in  every  Amer 
ican  ear  during  the  War  of  Independence,  and  was 
long  afterward  associated  with  everything  bloody, 
ferocious,  and  hateful.  It  is  even  within  our  own 
day  that  the  name  of  Brant  would  chill  the  young 
blood  by  its  very  sound,  and  cause  the  lisping  child 


VI  PREFACE. 

to  cling  closer  to  the  knee  of  its  mother.  As  the 
master-spirit  of  the  Indians  engaged  in  the  British 
service  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  not  only 
were  all  the  border  massacres  charged  directly 
upon  him,  but  upon  his  head  fell  the  public  male 
dictions  for  every  individual  atrocity  which  marked 
that  sanguinary  contest,  whether  committed  by  In 
dians,  or  Tories,  or  by  the  exasperated  regular  sol 
diery  of  the  foe.  In  many  instances  great  injus 
tice  was  done  to  him  :  as  in  regard  to  the  affair  of 
Wyoming,  in  connexion  with  which  his  name  has 
been  used  by  every  preceding  annalist  who  has 
written  upon  the  subject ;  while  it  has,  moreover, 
for  the  same  cause  been  consigned  to  infamy,  deep 
and  foul,  in  the  deathless  song  of  Campbell.  In 
other  cases,  again,  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations, 
in  common  with  their  chief,  were  loaded  with  ex 
ecrations  for  atrocities  of  which  all  were  alike  in 
nocent,  because  the  deeds  recorded  were  never 
committed  :  it  having  been  the  policy  of  the  pub- 
*ic  writers,  and  those  in  authority,  not  only  to  mag 
nify  actual  occurrences,  but  sometimes,  when  these 
were  wanting,  to  draw  upon  their  imaginations  for 
accounts  of  such  deeds  of  ferocity  arid  blood  as 
might  best  serve  to  keep  alive  the  strongest  feel 
ings  of  indignation  against  the  parent-country,  and 
likewise  induce  the  people  to  take  the  field  for  re 
venge,  if  not  driven  thither  by  the  nobler  impulse 
of  patriotism. 

In  the  execution  of  this  task,  the  author  had  sup 
posed  that  the  bulk  of  his  labour  would  cease  with 
the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  or,  at  most, 
that  some  fifteen  or  twenty  pages,  sketching  rap 
idly  the  latter  years  of  the  life  of  Thayendanegea 


PREFACE.  V 

would  be  all  that  was  necessary.  Far  otherwise 
was  the  fact.  When  the  author  came  to  examine 
the  papers  of  Brant,  nearly  all  of  which  were  con 
nected  with  his  career  subsequent  to  that  contest, 
it  was  found  that  his  life  and  actions  had  been  in 
timately  associated  with  the  Indian  and  Canadian 
politics  of  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  treaty 
of  peace  ;  that  a  succession  of  Indian  congresses 
were  held  by  the  nations  of  the  great  lakes,  in  all 
which  he  was  one  of  the  master-spirits ;  that  he 
was  directly  or  indirectly  engaged  in  the  wars  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Indians  from  1789  to 
1795,  during  which  the  bloody  campaigns  of  Har- 
mar,  St.  Clair,  and  Wayne  took  place  ;  and  that  he 
acted  an  important  part  in  the  affair  of  the  North 
western  posts,  so  long  retained  by  Great  Britain 
after  the  treaty  of  peace.  This  discovery  compel 
led  the  writer  to  enter  upon  a  new  and  altogether 
unexpected  field  of  research.  Many  difficulties 
were  encountered  in  the  composition  of  this  branch 
of  the  work,  arising  from  various  causes  and  cir 
cumstances.  The  conflicting  relations  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  the  Indians,  and  the  Canadians,  togeth 
er  with  the  peculiar  and  sometimes  apparently 
equivocal  position  in  which  the  Mohawk  chief — the 
subject  of  the  biography — stood  in  regard  to  them 
all ;  the  more  than  diplomatic  caution  with  which 
the  British  officers  managed  the  double  game 
which  it  suited  their  policy  to  play  so  long ;  the 
broken  character  of  the  written  materials  obtained 
by  the  author,  and  the  necessity  of  supplying  many 
links  in  the  chain  of  events  from  circumstantial 
evidence  and  the  unwritten  records  of  Indian  di 
plomacy,  all  combined  to  render  the  matters  to  be 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

elucidated  exceedingly  complicated,  intricate,  and 
difficult  of  clear  explanation.  But,  tangled  as  was 
the  web,  the  author  has  endeavoured  to  unravel  the 
materials,  and  weave  them  into  a  narrative  of  con 
sistency  and  truth.  The  result  of  these  labours  is 
imbodied  in  the  second  part  of  the  present  work ; 
and,  unless  the  author  has  over-estimated  both  the 
interest  and  the  importance  of  this  portion  of  Amer 
ican  history,  the  contribution  now  made  will  be 
most  acceptable  to  the  reader. 

In  addition  to  the  matters  here  indicated,  a  pret 
ty  full  account  of  the  life  of  Brant,  after  the  close 
of  the  Indian  wars,  is  given,  by  no  means  barren 
either  of  incident  or  anecdote ;  and  the  whole  is 
completed  by  some  interesting  particulars  respect 
ing  the  family  of  the  chief,  giving  their  personal 
history  down  to  the  present  day. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE    FIRST   VOLUME. 

CHAPTER  I. 

I  irentage  of  Joseph  Brant.  —  Extracts  from  Sir  William  Johnson's 
Journal. — Miss  Alolly  Brant. — Joseph  goes  to  Battle  at  the  Age  of  13. 
—His  Marriage Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  first  Blood  of  the  Revolution. — Loyalists  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mo 
hawk.— Influence  of  Sir  William  Johnson.— His  Death.— Colonel  Guy 
Johnson. — Walter  Butler. — Meeting  of  the  Whigs  in  Palatine. — Meet 
ing  of  the  General  Congress. — Cresap's  War,  and  the  Death  of  Lo 
gan  35 

CHAPTER  III. 

Battle  of  Lexington.  —  First  Strife  in  Tryon  County  between  the  Whigs 
and  Loyalists. —  The  Stockbridge  Indians.  —  Intercepted  Letter  from 
Brant. — Colonel  Guy  Johnson's  Intrigues  with  the  Six  Nations. — Zeal 
of  the  Tryon  County  Patriots 56 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Correspondence  between  the  Patriots  and  Colonel  Guy  Johnson. — Cap 
ture  of  Ticonderoga. — Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.— Colonel  Johnson  holds 
Councils  with  the  Indians.  —  The  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  promise 
Neutrality.  —  Colonel  Johnson  escapes  to  Canada,  accompanied  by 
Chiefs  and  Warriors  of  the  Six  Nations  .  ...  .  72 

CHAPTER  V. 

Meeting  of  the  Second  Continental  Congress. — George  Washington  ap 
pointed  Commander-in-chief. — Council  with  the  Six  Nations. — First 
Outbreak  of  Hostilities  in  the  Mohawk  Valley. — Movements  of  the 
Tryon  County  Committee. — Correspondence  with  Sir  John  Jonnson. — 
Invasion  of  Canada. — Death  of  Montgomery  ....  84 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Retirement  of  Lord  Dunmore  from  Virginia. — Suspicious  Conduct  of  Sir 
John  Johnson.— Council  with  the  Mohawks  held  by  General  Schuyler. 
—Correspondence  between  General  Schuyler  and  Sir  John  Johnson. — 
Surrender  by  the  latter  of  his  Arms  and  Munitions  of  War. — His  Flight 
to  Montreal .109 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Visit  of  Brant  to  England,  and  final  Resolution  to  take  Sides  against  the 
Colonists.— Battle  of  The  Cedars.— Cruel  Treatment  of  the  Prisoners 

VOL.  L— B 


f  CONTENTS. 

— Resolutions  by  Congress  denouncing  these  Barbarities. — Evacuation 
of  Boston  by  the  British. — Expulsion  of  the  Americans  from  Canada. 
— Issuing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. —  Battle  of  Long  Island. 
—  Battle  of  White.  Plains.  — Retreat  of  Washington  to  the  Dela 
ware  Page  126 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Battle  of  Princeton. — Final  Extinguishment  of  the  Council  Fire  of  the 
Six  Nations  at  Onondaga. —  Capture  of  an  Indian  Scouting  Party.— 
Interview  between  General  Herkimer  and  Brant. — Its  Failure. — Mur 
der  of  Lieutenant  Wormwood  by  Brant. — Death  of  the  Indian  Chiefs 
Cornstalk  and  Ellinipsics 154 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Expedition  under  General  Burgoyne. — Occupation  of  Philadelphia  by 
General  Howe. — Evacuation  of  Ticonderoga. — Murder  of  Miss  M'Crea. 
— Terrors  preceding  the  March  of  Burgoyne. — Narrow  Escape  of  Gen 
eral  Schuyler  from  Assassination 174 

CHAPTER  X. 

March  of  Colonel  St.  Leger  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne. — Prevalence 
of  Disaffection  among  the  Militia  of  Tryon  County. — Flight  of  Scotch 
and  German  Settlers  to  Canada. —  Strenuous  Efforts  of  General  Her 
kimer. — Investment  of  Fort  Schuyler. — Gallant  Defence  of  the  Be 
sieged.— Battle  of  Oriskany.— Death  of  General  Herkimer  .  187 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Siege  of  Fort  Schuyler. — St.  Leger's  Efforts  to  induce  a  Capitulation.— 
Bold  Achievement  of  Colonel  Willett.— Capture  of  Walter  N.  Butler, 
Trial  as  a  Spy,  and  Condemnation  to  Death.— His  Escape.— Hasty 
Abandonment  of  the  Siege  of  Fort  Schuyler. — Its  laughable  Cause. — 
Precipitate  Flight  of  the  Besiegers 221 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Embarrassments  of  Burgoyne. — He  encamps  at  Saratoga.— First  Battle 
there,  on  the  19th  of  September. — Increasing  Difficulties  of  Burgoyne. 
— Second  Battle  on  the  7th  of  October. — Death  of  General  Frazer.— 
Retreat  of  Burgoyne. —  His  Surrender. —  Presumptuous  Conduct  of 
General  Gates  towards  Washington. — Noble  Treatment  of  Burgovne 
by  Schuyler 237 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Movement  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  relieve  Burgoyne. — Capture  of  Forts 
Clinton  and  Montgomery. — Burning  of  Esopus. — Of  Danbury. — Death 
of  General  Wooster. — Massacre  at  Paoli. — Battle  of  Germantown. — 
Horrible  Murder  of  Captain  Diet/'s  Family  by  Tories  and  Indians. — 
Removal  of  Lady  Johnson. — Attempts  to  capture  Mr.  Taylor  and  to 
kill  General  Schuyler 252 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Treaty  of  Alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States. — Abortive 
Plan  of  General  Gates  to  invade  Canada. — Great  Council  held  with 
the  Six  Nations  at  Johnstown. — Irruption  of  Loyalists  from  Canada 
into  the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk. — Murder  of  an  Infant  by  one  of  the 
Loyalists  .  ,  267 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Massacre  at  Wyoming.— Description  of  the  Village. — History  of  its 
Settlement.— Warfare  of  the  early  Settlers. — Expedition  against  Wy 
oming  under  Colonel  Butler.  —  Disastrous  Battle,  and  Defeat  of  the 
Americans. —  Surrender  of  Fort  Wyoming. — Horrible  Atrocities  of 
the  Tories. — Brant  not  present  on  this  Occasion. — Catharine  Mon- 
tour Page  287 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Occupation  of  New-York  by  the  British. — Battle  of  Monmouth. — Arri 
val  of  the  French  Fleet.— Battle  of  Rhode  Island. — Operations  against 
the  Indians  at  the  West. — Colonel  Clarke's  Expedition.— Daring  Ex 
ploits  of  Captain  Bowman. — Border  Forays  in  New- York. — Bold  Es 
cape  of  Mr.  Sawyer  from  seven  Indians. — Treachery  in  Fort  Schuyler. 
— Murders  in  the  German  Settlements. — Destruction  of  the  German 
Flatts 312 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Destruction  of  Cherry  Valley  by  Butler  and  Brant. — Murder  of  Mr.  Wells 
and  his  Family.— Humanity  of  Joseph  Brant.— Letter  from  Butler  in 
vindication  of  his  Conduct. — Indian  Dance  of  Thanksgiving. — Sir  Will 
iam  Johnson's  Iron  Chest. — Its  Burial  and  subsequent  Recovery. — Cap 
ture  of  Savannah 335 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Beleaguerment  of  Fort  Laurens  by  the  Indians. — Relief  of  the  Garrison. 
— Final  Abandonment  of  the  Fort. — Capture  of  Colonel  Hamilton  and 
a  British  Force  on  the  Wabash. — Treachery  of  the  Onondagas. — Their 
severe  Punishment. — Indian  Murders  and  Ravages  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley. — Destruction  of  Cobleskill. — Descent  of  Brant  upon  Minisink. 
—Disastrous  Battle  at  the  Delaware  .  .  359 


BORDER    WARS 

OF    THE 

AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  birth  and  parentage  of  JOSEPH  BRANT,  or, 
more  correctly,  of  THAYENDANEGEA — for  such  was 
his  real  name — have  been  involved  in  uncertainty, 
by  the  conflicting  accounts  that  have  been  published 
concerning  him.  By  some  authors  he  has  been 
called  a  half-breed.  By  others  he  has  been  pro 
nounced  a  Shawanese  by  parentage,  and  only  a 
Mohawk  by  adoption.  Some  historians  have  spo 
ken  of  him  as  a  son  of  Sir  William  Johnson ;  while 
others,  again,  have  allowed  him  the  honour  of  Mo 
hawk  blood,  but  denied  that  he  was  descended  from 
a  chief. 

The  facts  are  these :  the  Six  Nations  had  carried 
their  arms  far  to  the  west  and  south,  and  the  whole 
country  south  of  the  lakes  was  claimed  by  them,  to 
a  certain  extent  of  supervisory  jurisdiction,  by  the 
right  of  conquest.  To  the  Ohio  and  Sandusky  coun 
try  they  asserted  a  stronger  and  more  peremptory 
claim,  extending  to  the  right  of  soil,  at  least  on  the 
lake  shore  as  far  as  Presque  Isle.  From  their  asso 
ciations  in  that  country,  it  had  become  usual  among 
the  Six  Nations,  especially  the  Mohawks,  to  make 
temporary  removals  to  the  west  during  the  hunting 
seasons,  and  one  or  more  of  those  families  would 
frequently  remain  abroad,  among  the  Miamis,  the 


l4  BOllPSR    WARS    OF    THE 

Hurons,  and  Wyandots,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  pe 
riod,  ftS  they  chose. 

?.t  was  while  his  parents  were  abroad  upon  one 
of  those  hunting  excursions  that  Thayendanegea 
was  born,  in  the  year  1742,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
The  home  of  his  family  was  at  the  Canajoharie 
Castle — the  central  of  the  three  castles  of  the  Mo 
hawks,  in  their  native  valley.  His  father's  name 
was  Tehowaghwengaraghkwin,  a  full-blooded  Mo 
hawk  of  the  Wolf  Tribe.*  Thayendanegea  was 
very  young  when  his  father  died.  His  mother  mar 
ried  a  second  time  to  a  Mohawk ;  and  the  family 
tradition  at  present  is,  that  the  name  of  Brant  was 
derived  from  that  of  her  second  husband,  whose 
Christian  name  was  Barnet,  or  Bernard,  modified,  by 
contraction,  to  "  Brant."  There  is  reason  to  doubt 
the  accuracy  of  this  tradition,  however,  since  it  is 
believed  that  there  was  an  Indian  family,  of  some 
consequence  and  extent,  bearing  the  English  name 
of  Brant.  Indeed,  from  the  recently -discovered 
manuscripts  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  Tehowaghwengaraghkwin,  and 
an  old  chief,  called  by  Sir  William  sometimes  Brant, 
and  at  others  Nickus  Brant,  were  not  one  and  the 
same  person. 

The  denial  that  he  was  a  born  chief  is  likewise 
believed  to  be  incorrect.  The  London  Magazine  for 
July,  1776,  contains  a  sketch  of  him,  probably  fur 
nished  by  Boswell,  with  whom  he  was  intimate  du 
ring  his  first  visit  to  England  in  1775-76.  In  that 
account  it  is  affirmed  that  he  was  the  grandson  of 
one  of  the  five  sachems  who  visited  England,  and 
excited  so  much  attention  in  the  British  capital,  in 
1710,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  Of  those 

*  Each  of  the  original  Five  Nations  was  divided  into  three  tribes  :  the 
Tortoise,  the  Bear,  and  the  Wolf.  The  subject  of  the  present  memoir 
was  of  the  latter.  According  to  David  Cusick,  a  Tuscarora,  who  has 
written  a  tract  respecting  the  history  of  the  ancient  Five  Nations,  the 
laws  of  the  confederation  required  that  the  Onondagas  should  provide 
the  king  and  the  Mohav/ks  a  great  war-chief. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  15 

chiefs,  two  were  of  the  Muhhekaneew,  or  River  In 
dians,  and  three  were  Mohawks — one  of  whom  was 
chief  of  the  Canajoharie  clan.*  Thayendanegea 
was  of  the  latter  clan ;  and  as  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  his  father  was  a  sachem,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the  London  publi 
cation,  in  claiming  for  him  direct  descent  from  the 
Canajoharie  chief  who  visited  the  British  court  at 
the  time  above  mentioned.  But  there  is  other  evi 
dence  to  sustain  the  assumption.  In  the  Life  of  the 
first  President  Wheelock,  by  the  Reverend  Messrs. 
M'Clure  and  Parish,  it  is  asserted  that  the  father 
of  Joseph  Brant  "  was  sachem  of  the  Mohawks  after 
the  death  of  the  famous  King  Hendrick."  The  in 
timacy  for  a  long  time  existing  between  the  family 
of  Brant  and  the  Wheelocks,  father  and  sons,  ren 
ders  this  authority,  in  the  absence  of  unwritten  tes 
timony  still  more  authentic,  very  good ;  and,  as 
Hendrick  fell  in  1755,  when  Thayendanegea  was 
thirteen  years  of  age,  the  tradition  of  the  early  death 
of  his  father,  and  his  consequent  assumption  of  a 
new  name,  is  essentially  weakened.  Mrs.  Grant, 
of  Laggan,  who  in  early  life  was  a  resident  of  Al 
bany,  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the  domestic 
relations  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  speaks  of  the  sis 
ter  of  young  Thayendanegea,  who  was  intimately 

*  These  five  sachems,  or  Indian  king's,  as  they  were  called,  were  taken 
to  England  by  Colonel  Schuyler.  Their  arrival  in  London  created  a 
great  sensation,  not  only  in  the  capital,  but  throughout  the  kingdom. 
The  populace  followed  them  wherever  they  went.  The  court  was  at 
that  time  in  mourning  for  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Denmark,  and  the 
chiefs  were  dressed  in  black  under-clothes,  after  the  English  manner ; 
but,  instead  of  a  blanket,  they  had  each  a  scarlet  ingrain  cloth  mantle, 
edged  with  gold,  thrown  over  all  their  other  clothes.  This  dress  was 
directed  by  the  dressers  of  the  playhouse,  and  given  by  the  queen.  A 
more  than  ordinary  solemnity  attended  the  audience  they  had  of  her 
majesty.  They  were  conducted  to  St.  James's,  in  two  coaches,  by  Sir 
Charles  Cotterel,  and  introduced  to  the  royal  presence  by  the  Duke  of 
Shrewsbury,  then  lord-chamberlain.  (Smith's  History.)  Oldmixon  has 
preserved  the  speech  delivered  by  them  on  the  occasion,  and  several  his 
torians  record  the  visit.  Sir  Richard  Steele  mentions  these  chiefs  in  the 
Taller  of  May  13,  1710.  They  were  also  made  the  subject  of  a  number 
o*  the  Spectator,  by  Addison, 


16  BORDER    WARS   OF   THE 

associated  in  the  family  of  the  baronet,  as  "  the 
daughter  of  a  sachem." 

Jn  the  manuscript  diary  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
just  referred  to,  the  baronet  often  had  occasion  to 
speak  of  Brant,  of  Canajoharie.  Sometimes  he  was 
called  "  Nickus  Brant,"  and  at  others  Aroghyadagha, 
but  most  frequently  "  Old  Nickus,"  or  "  Old  Brant." 
As  these  private  journals  of  Sir  William  have  never 
seen  the  light,  and  are  curious  in  themselves,  a  few 
extracts  will  probably  not  be  unacceptable  to  the 
reader,  serving,  as  they  will,  not  only  to  illustrate 
the  present  history,  but  also  the  character  of  the  in 
tercourse  and  relations  existing  between  the  English 
and  the  Indians,  under  the  administration  of  the  In 
dian  department  by  that  distinguished  officer.  A 
more  just  idea  of  the  character  and  importance  of 
the  chieftain's  family  may  likewise  be  derived  from 
a  perusal  of  the  extracts  proposed  to  be  given,  ex 
hibiting,  as  they  do,  something  of  the  intercourse 
maintained  between  the  families  of  the  white  and 
the  red  warriors. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  diary  was  writ 
ten  in  the  years  1757,  1758,  and  1759,  in  the  midst 
of  the  old  French  war,  ending  by  the  conquest  of 
Canada  in  1763.  An  expedition  against  that  colony, 
under  the  conduct  of  Lord  Loudoun,  projected  early 
in  the  former  year,  had  been  abandoned,  in  conse 
quence  of  his  lordship's  inability  to  bring  a  sufficient 
number  of  troops  into  the  field  to  meet  the  heavy 
re-enforcements  sent  over  that  year  from  France. 
Meantime,  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  with  an  army 
of  9000  men,  had  advanced  through  Lake  George, 
and  carried  Fort  William  Henry — the  siege  of  which 
was  followed  by  a  frightful  massacre — and  was  then 
threatening  Fort  Edward  and  the  settlements  on  the 
Hudson ;  while,  at  the  west,  the  French,  with  their 
Indian  allies,  were  continually  threatening  an  inva 
sion  by  the  way  of  Oswego,  and  by  their  scouts  and 
scalping  parties  were  vexing  the  German  settle- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  1  7 

ments  on  the  Upper  Mohawk,  and  continually  har 
assing  the  Six  Nations,  or  Iroquois,  ever  the  objects 
of  French  hostility.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  re 
quired  the  utmost  activity  on  the  part  of  Sir  William 
Johnson,  his  officers,  and  Indian  allies,  to  keep  them 
selves  well  informed  as  to  the  actual  or  intended 
movements  of  their  subtle  enemies.  There  was, 
therefore,  constant  employment,  until  the  close  of 
the  year,  for  Indian  scouts  and  messengers,  through 
out  the  whole  wilderness  country  from  Lake  Cham- 
plain  to  Niagara,  and  Fort  Du  Quesne,  on  the  Ohio. 
With  this  explanation  we  proceed  to  the  diary : 

"  1757. — November  4th.  Canadiorha,  alias  Nickus 
Brant's  son,  who  was  in  quest  after  De  Couagne  as 
far  as  Oneida,  came  here  (Fort  Johnson),  and  said 
he  inquired  what  news  was  stirring  among  the  Onei- 
das.  One  of  the  sachems  told  him  the  same  piece 
of  news  Ogaghte  brought  some  days  since,  about 
the  French  intending  to  stop  the  powder  from  the 
Six  Nations,  building  a  fort  near  Chennessio,  &c. ; 
that  it  made  a  great  noise  among  the  nations,  and 
gave  them  uneasiness  ;  wherefore  they  were  assem 
bling  often  at  Chennessio,  and  keeping  (holding) 
often  great  councils  among  themselves  how  to  act 
in  this  affair  of  last  moment." 

In  the  next  extract  it  will  be  seen  that  Sir  William 
speaks  of  Brant  as  a  "  sachem."  Of  course  it  could 
be  none  other  than  the  elder,  or  "  Old  Brant,"  at  the 
time,  as  Joseph  was  not  then  more  than  sixteen 
years  old. 

"  1758.— April  I5ih.  Sir  William  set  out  for  Cana- 
joharie,  and  took  with  him  Captains  Johnson,*  Fon 
da,  and  Jacobus  Clement,  in  order  to  settle  some 
matters  with  the  Indians  of  that  castle.  He  arrived 
that  night. 

"  April  16th.  He  delivered  a  string  of  wampum  to 
Brant  and  Paulus,  two  sachems,  desiring  them  to 
call  all  their  people  out  of  the  woods  to  attend  a 

*  Guy  Johnson>  his  son-in-law. 


18  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

meeting  he  proposed  the  next  day  with  them,  at 
which  he  should  let  them  know  General  Abercrom- 
bie's  pleasure,  and  his  own  inclination  and  advice  ; 
also  what  passed  between  him  and  the  several  na 
tions,  who  of  late  had  had  several  meetings  with 
him." 

Preparations  were  now  making  for  a  more  for 
midable  and  vigorous  campaign,  under  General  Ab- 
ercrombie,  who  had  succeeded  Lord  Loudoun.  His 
object  was  an  attack  upon  Ticonderoga,  and,  if  suc 
cessful,  a  descent  upon  Crown  Point  and  Montreal. 
The  French  in  Canada  were,  of  course,  making  cor 
responding  exertions  to  repel  the  expected  invasion. 
With  a  view  of  creating  a  diversion,  by  annoying 
the  colony  of  New- York  from  another  quarter,  they 
were  said  to  be  preparing  to  invade  the  Mohawk 
Valley  by  the  way  of  Oswego  and  Fort  Stanwix. 
A  party  of  their  Indians  had  made  a  bold  irruption, 
towards  the  close  of  April,  upon  Burnetsfield,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Mohawk,  and  destroyed  the  en 
tire  settlement ;  massacring  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren — thirty-three  in  number — being  the  whole  pop 
ulation  save  two  persons.  There  had  likewise  been 
outrages  at  the  German  Flatts,  where  several  In 
dians  had  been  killed  by  the  inhabitants.  The  mili 
tia  were  promptly  ordered  into  the  field,  to  rendez 
vous  at  Canajoharie,  whither  Sir  William  repaired 
on  the  4th  of  May,  to  lead  them  against  the  enemy, 
reported,  on  the  same  day,  to  be  in  force  at  the  great 
carrying-place  (Fort  Stanwix). 

Meantime,  it  was  well  known  that  the  French  had 
left  no  means  untried  to  seduce  the  five  westernmost 
tribes  of  the  Six  Nations  from  their  allegiance  to 
the  English.  They  had  long  had  their  Jesuit  priests 
among  the  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  &c. ;  and  a  variety 
of  circumstances  had  occurred  to  induce  the  Mo 
hawks  to  distrust  their  brethren  of  the  other  tribes. 
Under  these  circumstances  Sir  William  received  the 
invitation  thus  noted  in  his  diary : 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  19 

"  April  4th.  Sir  William  having  had  an  invitation 
from  the  Six  Nations  to  attend  a  grand  meeting  to 
be  held  at  Onondaga  within  a  few  days  hence,  where 
he  intends  to  proceed,  in  case  the  last  alarm  should 
prove  groundless." 

The  baronet  arrived  at  Canajoharie  in  the  evening, 
and  attended  a  dance  of  the  young  warriors,  having 
the  scalp  of  one  of  the  hostile  Indians  engaged  in 
the  recent  irruption,  who  had  been  killed  at  the  Ger 
man  Flatts.  He  is  thus  spoken  of  in  the  diary,  in 
the  handwriting  of  Sir  William's  secretary  : 

"  The  body  of  Otqueandageghte,  an  Onondaga 
warrior,  who  lived  for  some  years  at  'Swegachy, 
and  formerly  a  mate  of  Sir  William's,  was  found. 
His  name  was  engraved  on  the  handle  (of  his  knife), 
and  how  often  he  had  been  to  war,  together  with 
this  inscription :  '  Otqueandageghte  le  Camera  de  Jean- 
son.1  " 

Sir  William  was  highly  respected  by  the  Six  Na 
tions,  and  by  the  Mohawks,  in  particular,  was  great 
ly  beloved.  This  affection  was  not  only  manifested 
by  their  actions,  but  often  in  their  speeches  at  their 
councils,  and  in  their  concern  for  his  welfare  when 
sick,  and  for  his  safety  when  in  the  field.  Such  be 
ing  their  feelings  towards  the  baronet,  they  were 
reluctant,  under  existing  circumstances,  to  allow 
him  to  place  himself  in  the  power  of  the  Indians 
about  to  assemble  at  the  Great  Council  Fire  at  On 
ondaga.  They  were  likewise  apprehensive  that  he 
might  incur  danger  from  some  of  the  scalping  par 
ties  of  the  French.  These  explanations  will  render 
the  following  extracts  from  the  diary  intelligible  : 

"Afay  5th.  Sir  William  having  no  farther  ac 
counts  of  the  enemy's  appearance,  sent  a  scout  of 
two  Mohawks,  two  Canajoharies,  and  a  white  man, 
to  go  as  far  as  Wood  Creek  and  the  Oneida  Lake,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  certainty  of  the  alarm.  About 
noon,  all  the  women  of  the  chief  men  of  this  castle 
met  at  Sir  William's  lodging,  and  brought  with  them 


20  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

several  of  the  sachems,  who  acquainted  Sir  William 
that  they  had  something  to  say  to  him  in  the  name 
of  their  chief  women. 

"  Old  Nickus  (Brant)  being  appointed  speaker, 
opened  his  discourse  with  condoling  with  Sir  Will 
iam  for  the  losses  his  people  had  sustained,  and 
then  proceeded  : 

*' '  BROTHER — We  understand  you  intend  to  go  to  a 
meeting  to  Onondaga ;  we  can't  help  speaking  with 
this  belt  of  wampum  to  you,  and  giving  our  senti 
ments  on  your  intended  journey.  In  the  first  place, 
we  think  it  quite  contrary  to  the  customs  of  any 
governor  or  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  being 
called  to  Onondaga  upon  public  business,  as  the 
council  fire  which  burns  there  serves  only  for  pri 
vate  consultations  of  the  confederacy;  and  when 
matters  are  concluded  and  resolved  upon  there,  the 
confederacy  are  to  set  out  for  the  great  fireplace 
which  is  at  your  house,  and  there  deliver  their  con 
clusion.  In  the  next  place,  we  are  almost  convin 
ced  that  the  invitation  is  illegal,  and  not  agreed 
upon  or  desired  by  the  confederacy,  but  only  the 
Oneidas— which  gives  us  the  more  reason  to  be  un 
easy  about  your  going,  as  it  looks  very  suspicious. 
Did  not  they  tell  you,  when  they  invited  you,  the 
road  of  friendship  was  clear,  and  every  obstacle  re 
moved  that  was  in  before !  They  scarce  uttered  rt, 
and  the  cruelties  were  committed  at  the  German 
Flatts,  where  the  remainder  of  our  poor  brethren 
were  butchered  by  the  enemy's  Indians.  Is  this  a 
clear  road  of  peace  and  friendship  ?  W^ould  not  you 
be  obliged  to  wade  all  the  way  in  the  blood  of  the 
poor  innocent  men,  women,  and  children,  who  were 
murdered  after  being  taken  T 

"  '  BROTHER,  by  this  belt  of  wampum,  we,  the  wom 
en,  surround  and  hang  about  you  like  little  children, 
who  are  crying  at  their  parents'  going  from  them 
for  fear  of  their  never  returning  again  to  give  them 
suck ;  and  we  earnestly  beg  you  will  give  ear  to 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  21 

our  request,  and  desist  from  your  journey.  We 
flatter  ourselves  you  will  look  upon  this  our  speech, 
and  take  the  same  notice  of  it  as  all  our  men  do, 
who,  when  they  are  addressed  by  the  women,  and 
desired  to  desist  from  any  rash  enterprise,  they  im 
mediately  give  way,  when,  before,  everybody  else 
tried  to  dissuade  them  from  it,  and  could  not  pre 
vail.'  Gave  the  belt." 

"May  Wth.  This  afternoon  Sir  William  returned 
his  answer  to  the  speech  of  the  chief  women  of  this 
castle,  made  to  him  on  the  5th  instant,  which  is  as 
follows  : 

" '  DYATTEGO— Your  tender  and  affectionate  speech, 
made  some  days  ago,  I  have  considered,  and  there 
upon  have  despatched  messengers  to  Oneida,  in  or 
der  to  inquire  how  things  stand  there  after  what 
happened  at  the  German  Flatts,  and  whether  my 
presence  at  the  meeting  would  be  still  necessary. 
These  messengers  are  returned,  and  I  find  by  them 
that  the  sachems  of  Oneida  likewise  disapprove  my 
proceeding  any  farther,  for  sundry  reasons  they 
give  in  their  reply.  Wherefore  I  shall  comply  with 
your  request  to  return,  and  heartily  thank  you  for 
the  great  tenderness  and  love  expressed  for  me  in 
your  speech.'  Returned  their  belt." 

The  next  mention  of  the  Brants  contained  in  the 
broken  manuscripts  of  Sir  William,  is  found  in  the 
private  journal  kept  by  him  of  his  tour  to  Detroit, 
in  1761,  after  the  surrender  of  the  Canadas.  The 
duty  then  devolved  upon  Sir  William  of  meeting 
the  upper  Indians  around  the  great  lakes,  previous 
ly  under  the  influence,  and  many  of  them  in  the 
service,  of  the  French,  in  Grand  Council  at  Detroit 
to  establish  friendly  relations  with  them,  and  re 
ceive  a  transfer  of  that  quasi  allegiance  which  the 
Indians  have  generally  acknowledged  to  the  whites, 
French,  English,  or  American.  In  addition  to  his 
own  immediate  suite,  among  whom  was  his  son, 
Lieutenant  Johnson  (afterward  Sir  John),  he  was 


22  BORDER    WARS    OP   THE 

attended  on  the  expedition  by  a  detachment  of 
troops  and  a  band  of  the  Mohawk  warriors.  While 
at  Niagara,  Sir  William  notes  : 

"Monday,  August  10.  Nickus,*  of  Canajoharie> 
an  Indian,  arrived  here,  and  acquainted  me  that  sev 
eral  of  his  castle  had  died  of  malignant  fever ;  and 
that  all  Brant's  family  were  ill  of  the  same  disorder, 
except  the  old  woman.  He  also  told  me  that  he 
had  heard  by  the  way,  from  several  Indians,  that  I 
was  to  be  destroyed  or  murdered  on  my  way  to  De 
troit  ;  and  that  the  Indians  were  certainly  determin 
ed  to  rise  and  fall  on  the  English,  as  several  thou- 

*  Nickus  Hance— another  name  and  a  different  person  from  Nickus 
Brant ;  of  this  Nickus,  repeated  mention  is  made  in  Sir  William's  pre 
vious  official  diaries.  The  following  quotations  are  given  as  curious  il 
lustrations  of  Indian  customs : 

"  Fort  Johnson,  May  22,  1757.  Sir  William  spoke  with  Nickus  Hance, 
alias  Taicarihogo,  a  Canajoharie  chief,  who  came  to  see  him,  and  told 
him  that,  as  he  was  much  concerned  for  the  loss  of  his  (said  Hance's) 
mother,  who  lately  died,  he  expected  he  would  remove  his  concern  by 
going  to  war,  and  bringing  either  a  prisoner  or  a  scalp  to  put  in  her 
room,  or  stead,  as  is  usual  among  Indians.  Upon  this,  Sir  William  gave 
him  a  very  fine  black  belt  to  enforce  his  request.  Taicarihogo  returned 
Sir  William  thanks  for  the  concern  he  shared  for  the  loss  of  his  mother, 
accepted  the  belt,  and  promised  he  would,  on  his  return  home,  call  his 
young  men  together,  and  lay  Sir  William's  belt  and  request  before  them." 
[The  giving  of  a  belt  in  this  way  was  a  sort  of  commission  to  make  up 
a  scalping  party  against  the  forces  or  the  settlements  of  the  enemy.— 
Author.] 

Of  a  similar  character  is  the  following  extract  from  the  diary  : 
"  Albany,  May  18,  1758.  Capt.  Jacob  Head,  of  a  company  of  Stock- 
bridge  Indians,  brought  to  Sir  William's  lodgings  four  French  scalps, 
which  his  cousin,  chief  of  another  company  of  said  Indians,  had  taken 
from  the  enemy  some  few  days  before,  and  the  aforesaid  Jacob  spoke  as 
follows : 

"  'Brother  Warraghayagey^  This  scalp  (the  one  with  a  black  belt  tied 
to  it,  painted)  I  desire  may  be  delivered  to  my  wife's  uncle>  old  Hickus. 
of  Canajoharie,  to  replace  her  mother,  who  was  his  sister. 

"  '  This  scalp  (meaning  another  upon  the  same  stick,  with  a  bunch  of 
black  wampum  tied  to  it)  I  send  to  the  aforesaid  man  to  replace  Euse- 
nia,  who  was  Taraghyorie's  wife. 

"  '  This  scalp  (meaning  a  scalp  by  itself  on  a  stick,  with  a  bunch  of 
black  wampum)  my  cousin,  Captain  Jacob,  gives  to  replace  old  King 
Hendrick,  of  Canajoharie.  [Killed,  in  1755,  at  the  battle  of  Lake  George. 
— Author.1 

"  '  This  scalp  (meaning  the  small  one  tied  round  with  a  bunch  of  wam 
pum)  my  said  cousin  gives  to  replace  Hickus's  son,  who  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  the  lake  under  vour  rommand,'  " 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  23 

sands  of  the  Ottoways  and  other  nations  had  agreed 
to  join  the  Five  Nations  in  this  scheme  or  plot." 

It  is  needless,  however,  to  multiply  citations  to 
the  point  immediately  in  view.  The  object  of  those 
already  made  has  been  to  clear  up  the  doubts,  if 
possible,  and  establish  the  fact  as  to  the  immediate 
ancestry  of  Thayendanegea,  alias  Joseph  Brant; 
and  although  the  fact  is  nowhere  positively  assert 
ed,  yet  there  is  much  reason  to  suppose  that  he 
was  the  son  of  Nickus  Brant,  whose  Indian  name, 
according  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  was  Aroghyadec- 
ka,  but  which  has  been  furnished  to  the  author  by 
the  family  as  Tehowaghwengaraghkwin.  It  has  been 
seen,  from  the  extracts,  that  Nickus  Brant  was  a 
Canajoharie  chief  of  character  and  celebrity,  be 
tween  whom  and  Sir  William  a  close  intimacy  sub 
sisted.  When  called  to  Canajoharie  upon  business 
or  pleasure,  the  baronet's  quarters  were  "  at  Brant's 
house,"  as  noted  in  his  own  diary.  It  is  likewise 
well  known  that,  after  the  decease  of  Lady  John 
son  (an  event  which  occurred  several  years  antece 
dent  to  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  and 
before  he  had  won  his  baronetcy  at  Lake  George), 
Sir  William  took  to  his  home  as  his  wife,  Mary 
Brant,  or  "  Miss  Molly,"  as  she  was  called,  with 
whom  he  lived  until  his  decease,  in  1774,  and  by 
whom  he  had  several  children.  This  circumstance 
is  thus  mentioned  by  Mrs.  Grant,  in  her  delightful 
book  already  referred  to  :  "  Becoming  a  widower 
in  the  prime  of  life,  he  connected  himself  with  an 
Indian  maiden,  daughter  to  a  sachem,  who  possess 
ed  an  uncommonly  agreeable  person  and  good  un 
derstanding  ;  and,  whether  ever  formally  married  to 
him  according  to  our  usage  or  not,  continued  to 
live  with  him  in  great  union  and  affection  all  his 
life."  The  baronet  himself  repeatedly  speaks  of 
this  Indian  lady  in  his  private  journals.  While  on 
his  expedition  to  Detroit,  entries  occur  of  having 
received  news  from  home,  and  of  having  written 


24  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

to  "Molly."     He  always  mentioned  her  kindly, 

ex.  gr. : 

"  Wednesday,  Oct.  2lst.  Met  Sir  Robert  Davers 
and  Captain  Etherington,  who  gave  me  a  packet  of 
letters  from  General  Amherst.  *  *  *  Captain  Eth 
erington  told  me  Molly  was  delivered  of  a  girl ;  that 
all  were  well  at  my  house,  where  they  staid  two 
days." 

But  to  return  from  these  digressions.  Molly,  as 
it  has  already  been  stated,  was  the  sister  of  Thay- 
endanegea ;  and  both,  according  to  the  account  of 
the  London  Magazine  of  1776,  the  earliest  printed 
testimony  upon  the  subject,  were  the  grandchildren 
of  one  of  the  Mohawk  chiefs  who  visited  England 
half  a  century  before.  That  his  father  was  a  chief, 
several  authorities  have  likewise  been  cited  to  show ; 
to  which  may  be  added  that  of  Allen's  Biographical 
Dictionary,  where  the  fact  is  positively  asserted.* 
From  such  a  body  of  testimony,  therefore,  direct 
and  circumstantial,  it  is  hazarding  but  very  little  to 
assume,  that,  so  far  from  having  been  of  humble  and 
plebeian  origin,  Joseph  Brant  was  of  the  noblest  de 
scent  among  his  nation. 

Of  the  early  youth  of  Joseph,  there  are  no  ac 
counts,  other  than  that  he  was  very  young  when 
first  upon  the  war-path.  In  one  of  the  authorities 
it  is  stated  that,  having  attained  the  age  of  thirteen 
years,  he  joined  the  warriors  of  his  tribe  under  Sir 
William  Johnson,  and  was  present  at  the  memora 
ble  battle  of  Lake  George,  in  which  the  French  were 
defeated,  and  their  commander,  the  Baron  Dieskau, 
mortally  wounded.  The  Mohawks  were  led  into 
action  by  their  celebrated  king,  the  brave  old  Hen- 
drick,  who  was  slain.f  It  was  this  victory  which 

*  President  Allen  is  connected  by  marriage  with  the  family  of  the 
late  President  Wheelock,  and  has  had  excellent  opportunities  for  arri- 
Ting  at  the  probable  truth. 

t  A  council  of  war  was  called,  Sept.  8.     It  was  proposed  to  send  a  de- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  25 

aid  the  foundation  of  Sir  William's  military  fame, 
and  in  reward  for  which  he  was  created  a  baronet. 
It  is  reported,  that  in  relating  the  particulars  of  this 
bloody  engagement,  the  warrior  acknowledged, 
"  That  this  being  the  first  action  at  which  he  was 
present,  he  was  seized  with  such  a  tremour  when  the 
firing  began,  that  he  was  obliged  to  take  hold  of  a 
small  sapling  to  steady  himself;  but  that,  after  the 
discharge  of  a  few  volleys,  he  recovered  the  use  of 
his  limbs  and  the  composure  of  his  mind,  so  as  to 
support  the  character  of  a  brave  man,  of  which  he 
was  exceedingly  ambitious."  He  was,  no  doubt,  a 
warrior  by  nature.  "  I  like,"  said  he  once,  in  after 
life,  when  the  conversation  was  about  music,  "  the 
harpsichord  well,  and  the  organ  still  better ;  but  1 
like  the  drum  and  trumpet  best  of  all,  for  they  make 
my  heart  beat  quick." 

President  Allen  states  that  the  father  of  Thayen- 
danegea  had  three  sons  in  the  army  of  Sir  William 
Johnson  in  the  year  1756.  Of  these,  Joseph  was 
probably  the  youngest,  since  he  was  but  thirteen 
at  the  battle  of  Lake  George,  in  1755.  A  young 
warrior,  truly ;  but  he  might  well  have  been  there, 
even  at  that  tender  age,  since,  by  all  the  accounts 
that  have  descended  to  us,  he  must  have  been  a  lad 
of  uncommon  enterprise — giving  early  promise  of 
those  eminent  qualities  which  were  developed  in 
the  progress  of  U  life  of  various  and  important  ac 
tion. 

The  youthful  warrior  likewise  accompanied  Sir* 
William  during  the  Niagara  campaign  of  1759,  and, 
in  the  brilliant  achievements  of  the  baronet,  after 
the  chief  command  had  devolved  upon  him  by  the 

tachment  to  meet  the  enemy.  When  the  number  was  mentioned  to 
Hendrick,  he  replied,  "  If  they  are  to  fight,  they  are  too  few ;  if  they 
are  to  be  killed,  they  are  too  many."  When  it  was  proposed  to  send 
out  the  detachment  in  three  parties,  Hendrick  took  three  sticks,  and 
said,  "  Put  these  together,  and  you  can't  break  them  ;  take  them  one 
by  one,  and  you  will  do  it  easily."  Hendrick's  advice  was  taken,  and 
victory  was  the  result. —  Holmes. 

VOL.  I.— C 


26  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

death  of  General  Prideaux,  is  said  to  have  acquitted 
himself  with  distinguished  bravery.  On  the  24th 
of  July,  Monsieur  d'Aubrey  approached  the  fortress 
with  a  strong  force,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the 
siege.  A  severe  engagement  ensued  in  the  open 
field,  which  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  British 
and  provincial  arms.  The  action  was  commenced 
with  great  impetuosity  by  the  French,  but  Sir  Will 
iam  was  well  prepared  for  their  reception.  After 
a  spirited  contest  of  half  an  hour,  the  French  broke, 
and  the  fate  of  the  day  was  decided.  The  flight  of 
the  French  was  bloody  and  disastrous  for  the  space 
of  five  miles,  at  which  distance  D'Aubrey  and  most 
of  his  officers  were  captured.  The  Indians  behaved 
uncommonly  well  on  this  occasion,  and  Brant  was 
among  them.  On  the  following  day,  so  vigorously 
did  the  baronet  prosecute  his  operations,  the  fort 
was  taken,  with  all  its  military  supplies  and  about 
six  hundred  prisoners.  By  this  blow  the  French 
were  cut  off  from  their  project  of  keeping  up  a  lino 
of  fortified  communications  with  Louisiana. 

The  exertions  of  Sir  William  Johnson  to  improve 
the  moral  and  social  condition  of  his  Mohawk  neigh 
bours  were  not  the  least  of  his  praiseworthy  la 
bours  among  that  brave  and  chivalrous  people. 
Having  aided  in  the  building  of  churches  and  loca 
ting  missionaries  among  them,  at  the  request  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  and  others,  he  selected  numbers 
of  young  Mohawks,  and  caused  them  to  be  sent  to 
>the  "  Moor  Charity  School,"  established  at  Lebanon, 
Connecticut,  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the 
Rev.  Doctor  Eleazer  Wheelock,  afterward  President 
of  Dartmouth  College,  of  which,  by  its  transfer,  that 
school  became  the  foundation.  Among  the  youths 
thus  selected  was  young  Thayendanegea,  the  prom 
ising  brother  of  "  Miss  Molly." 

The  precise  year  in  which  he  was  thus  placed 
under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Wheelock  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.  The  school  itself  was  opened  for  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  27 

reception  of  Indian  pupils,  avowedly  as  an  Indian 
missionary  school,  in  1748  ;  the  first  Indian  scholar, 
Samson  Occum,  having  been  received  into  it  five 
years  before.*  It  has  been  asserted  that  Joseph 
was  received  into  the  school  in  July,  1761,  at  which 
time  he  must  have  been  nineteen  years  old,  and  a 
memorandum  of  his  preceptor  to  that  effect  has 
been  cited.  According  to  Dr.  Stewart,  however,  he 
was  a  mere  boy  when  first  sent  to  Lebanon ;  and  it 
will  presently  appear  that  the  entry  of  Dr.  Wheelock 
was  most  probably  incorrect.  He  was  doubtless  at 
the  school  in  that  year,  and  very  likely  on  the  point 
of  leaving  it ;  since,  three  years  afterward,  he  will 
be  found  settled  in  his  own  native  valley,  and  enga 
ged  in  very  different  pursuits. 

The  correspondence  between  Doctor  Wheelock 
and  Sir  William  was  quite  active  at  this  period  upon 
the  subject  of  the  school,  and  Joseph  was  himself 
employed  as  an  agent  to  procure  recruits  for  it. 
Thus,  in  a  letter  from  the  baronet  to  the  doctor,  da 
ted  November  17,  1761,  he  says,  "  I  have  given  in 
charge  to  Joseph  to  speak  in  my  name  to  any  good 
boys  he  may  see,  and  encourage  to  accept  the  gen 
erous  offers  now  made  to  them  ;  which  he  promised 
to  do,  and  return  as  soon  as  possible,  and  that  with 
out  horses."  The  probability,  however,  is,  that  he 
went  to  the  school  immediately  after  his  return  from 
the  Niagara  campaign,  in  1759.  No  doubt  he  had 
left  it  before  Sir  William  wrote  the  letter  just  cited, 
and,  being  engaged  upon  some  Indian  mission,  had 
been  instructed  to  interest  himself  among  the  people 
of  the  forest  in  behalf  of  that  institution.  That  he 
did  not  himself  remain  long  at  the  school,  is  conce 
ded.  According  to  Dr.  Stewart,  moreover,  he  made 

*  The  success  of  the  doctor  with  him  was  a  strong-  inducement  for 
establishing  the  school.  Occum  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1759, 
and  was  subsequently  located  as  a  missionary  among  the  Oneidas,  to 
which  place  he  was  accompanied  by  Sir  William  himself.  T!;s  Indian 
preacher  afterward  compiled  and  published  a  volume  of  devotionaJ 
hymns. 


28  BORDER    WARS   OF   THE 

but  little  proficiency  in  his  studies  at  this  seminary, 
having  "  learned  to  read  but  very  indifferently  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  to  write  but  very  little." 
The  fact,  however,  that  the  Rev.  Charles  Jeffrey 
Smith,  a  missionary  to  the  Mohawks,  took  Thayen 
danegea  as  an  interpreter  in  the  year  following 
(1762),  and  gave  him  an  excellent  character,  pre 
sents  a  much  more  favourable  idea  of  his  progress 
in  learning  while  at  the  school ;  as  also  does  the 
following  passage  from  the  memoirs  of  his  teacher : 
"  Sir  William  Johnson,  superintendent  of  Indian  af 
fairs  in  North  America,  was  very  friendly  to  the  de 
sign  of  Mr.  Wheelock,  and  at  his  request  sent  to  the 
school,  at  various  times,  several  boys  of  the  Mo 
hawks  to  be  instructed.  One  of  them  was  the  since 
celebrated  Joseph  Brant,  who,  after  receiving  his  ed 
ucation,  was  particularly  noticed  by  Sir  William 
Johnson,  and  employed  by  him  in  public  business. 
He  has  been  very  useful  in  advancing  the  civiliza 
tion  of  his  countrymen,  and,  for  a  long  time  past, 
has  been  a  military  officer  of  extensive  influence 
among  the  Indians  in  Upper  Canada."  Accompa 
nying  Thayendanegea  to  the  "  Moor  School"  were 
several  other  Mohawk  youths,  and  two  Delawares 
had  entered  the  school  before  him.  The  name  of 
one  of  Thayendanegea's  companions  was  William, 
a  half-breed,  who  was  supposed  to  be  the  son  of 
his  patron.  Only  two  of  the  number  remained  to 
receive  the  honours  of  the  future  college.  The  oth 
ers,  impatient  of  the  restraints  of  a  school,  and  de 
lighting  more  in  the  chase  of  game  than  of  literary 
honours,  returned  to  their  hunter  state  in  about  two 
years.  Thayendanegea  probably  left  the  school  at 
the  same  time.  He  used,  when  speaking  of  the 
school,  to  relate  with  much  pleasantry  an  anecdote 
of  "  William,"  who,  as  he  affirmed,  was  one  day  or 
dered  by  Mr.  Wheelock's  son  to  saddle  his  horse. 
The  lad  refused,  alleging  that,  as  he  was  a  gentle 
man's  son,  the  performance  of  such  a  menial  office 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  29 

would  be  out  of  character.  "  Do  you  know,"  inqui 
red  the  younger  Wheelock,  "  what  a  gentleman  is  V 
"  I  do,"  replied  William  :  "  a  gentleman  is  a  person 
who  keeps  racehorses  and  drinks  Madeira  wine, 
and  that  is  what  neither  you  nor  your  father  do — 
therefore,  saddle  the  horse  yourself!" 

The  exigences  of  the  frontier  country  did  not  al 
low  Thayendanegea  to  remain  long  associated  in 
the  mission  with  Mr.  Smith.  He  was  again  called 
out  upon  the  war-path,  as  appears  by  the  following 
paragraph  in  one  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland's*  earli 
est  reports  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wheelock,  in  regard  to 
the  Christian  missionaries  and  teachers  employed 
among  the  Six  Nations  : 

"  Joseph  Brant,  a  Mohawk  Indian,  and  of  a  family 
of  distinction  in  that  nation,  was  educated  by  Mr. 
Wheelock,  and  was  so  well  accomplished,  that  the 
Rev.  Charles  Jeffrey  Smith  (a  young  gentleman, 
who,  out  of  love  to  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men,  de 
votes  his  life,  and  such  a  fortune  as  is  sufficient  to 
support  himself  and  an  interpreter,  wholly  to  this 
glorious  service)  took  him  for  his  interpreter  when 
he  went  on  his  mission  to  the  Mohawks,  now  three 
years  ago.  But  the  war  breaking  out  at  that  time 
between  the  back  Indians  and  the  English,  Mr.  Smith 
was  obliged  to  return  ;  but  Joseph  tarried,  and  went 
out  with  a  company  against  the  Indians,  and  was 
useful  in  the  war,  in  which  he  behaved  so  much  like 
the  Christian  and  the  soldier,  that  he  gained  grea* 
esteem.  He  now  lives  in  a  decent  manner,  and  en 
deavours  to  teach  his  poor  brethren  the  things  of 
God,  in  which  his  own  heart  seems  much  engaged 

*The  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  father  of  President  Kirkland,  late  o* 
Harvard  University,  and  for  more  than  forty  years  a  missionary  among 
the  Six  Nations,  chiefly  the  Oueidas.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Kirklaiid,  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  born  in  1742.  He  first 
commenced  his  labours  among  the  Senecas  in  1766,  having  learned  the 
Mohawk  language  while  in  college  HR  was  often  employed  by  the 
government  in  various  Indian  transactions,  and  died  at  Paris,  Oiieida 
County,  in  March,  1808. 


30  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

His  house  is  an  asylum  for  the  missionaries  in  that 
wilderness."         • 

Neither  the  particular  war  in  which  the  young 
chief  was  then  engaged,  nor  the  time  of  the  cam 
paign,  is  noted  in  the  foregoing  extract.  A  passage 
contained  in  a  letter  from  Sir  William  Johnson  to 
Dr.  Wheelock,  however,  dated  April  25th,  1764,  af 
fords  a  clew  to  the  desired  information  :  "  J is 

just  returned  from  an  expedition  against  the  enemy, 
who  have  abandoned  their  towns,  of  which  three 
were  burned,  with  four  villages,  consisting,  in  all, 
of  about  two  hundred  houses,  built  with  squared 
logs,  and  vast  quantities  of  corn,  &c.  Parties  are 
now  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy."  It  was,  therefore, 
early  in  the  spring  of  1764  that  young  Brant  return 
ed  from  the  war,  then  brought  to  a  close.  The  war 
itself  could  have  been  none  else  than  that  against 
the  great  Otto  way  chief  Pontiac,  who,  in  1763,  un 
dertook  to  dispossess  the  English  of  the  country  of 
the  lakes,  then  recently  acquired  by  conquest  from 
the  French.  Pontiac  was  by  far  the  most  formida 
ble  chief  with  whom  the  English  colonists  had  had 
to  contend  since  the  fall  of  Philip.  He  combined 
the  great  Indian  tribes  of  the  northwest  almost  as 
one  man,  and  in  1763  led  thirty-six  chiefs,  with  their 
trains  of  warriors,  against  Detroit,  after  having  car 
ried  several  of  the  remote  western  posts.  A  well- 
concerted  stratagem,  timely  discovered  to  the  Brit 
ish  commander  by  an  Indian  woman,  had  welmigh 
placed  that  important  position  within  his  power  also. 
Foiled  in  the  plan  of  obtaining  admission  by  strata 
gem  and  putting  the  garrison  to  death,  Pontiac  laid 
siege  to  the  fort,  attacking  it  with  great  fury.  It 
was  besieged  for  a  long  time,  as  also  were  the  fort 
at  Niagara  and  Fort  Pitt.  It  was  not  until  the  au 
tumn  of  1763  that  the  English  were  able  to  throw 
succours  into  Detroit,  in  accomplishing  which  en 
terprise  some  of  the  Mohawk  warriors  were  enga 
ged.  There  had  been  several  severe  engagements 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  31 

with  Pontiac's  warriors  in  the  course  of  that  sum 
mer,  in  which  the  Indians  attached  to  the  English 
cause  had  fought  with  great  bravery.  The  vessel 
carrying  the  supplies  to  Detroit  was  likewise  furi 
ously  attacked  by  a  force  of  350  Indians,  in  boats  on 
the  lake,  but  they  were  bravely  repulsed.  In  what 
particular  battles,  during  this  contest,  Thayendane- 
gea  was  engaged,  does  not  appear.  But  he  was  in 
the  war,  and  his  courageous  and  enterprising  spirit 
offered  the  best  evidence  that  he  neither  avoided  the 
post  of  danger,  nor  failed  to  reach  it  for  want  of  ac 
tivity.  Having  invested  Detroit  for  a  twelvemonth, 
the  French,  moreover,  with  whom  lie  was  in  alli 
ance,  having  lost  their  power  in  America,  Pontiac 
sued  for  peace  on  the  approach  of  General  Brad- 
street  from  Pittsburg,  at  the  head  of  3000  men.* 

In  1765,  Thayendanegea,  having  been  previously 
married  to  the  daughter  of  an  Oneida  chief,  was  set 
tled  at  Canajoharie,  as  appears  by  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  Theophilus  Chamberlain,  one  of  the  mission 
aries  to  the  Six  Nations,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wheelock, 
written  from  Canajoharie,  and  dated  July  17th  of 
that  year. 

Three  years  afterward,  he  was  still  leading  a 
peaceful  life  at  the  same  place,  as  we  learn  from  the 
following  entry  in  the  journal  of  Mr.  Ralph  Whee 
lock,  who  had  been  sent  to  Oneida  to  relieve  Mr. 
Kirkland,  that  gentleman  being  sick  : 

"  March  18, 1768.  At  my  old  friend,  Joseph  Brant's, 
I  met  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Onondagas  (who  is,  by 
way  of  eminence,  called  the  Wise  Man)  on  his  re 
turn  to  his  tribe,  with  his  wife  and  child ;  and,  by 
Joseph  Brant's  help,  I  was  able  to  discourse  with 
him,  and  delivered  my  message  to  his  nation." 

During  the  three  years  next  ensuing,  no  certain 
information  has  been  obtained  respecting  his  course 
of  life.  As  the  country  was  at  peace,  ho\vever,  he 

*  Pontiac  was  assassinated  in  1779,  during-  a  war  between  the  lowaya 
and  Ottoways.  He  was  a  great  man. 


32  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

was  probably  leading  a  life  of  repose  at  home,  save 
when  acting,  upon  occasional  business  visits  among 
the  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  Sir  William  John 
son.  It  is  very  probable,  moreover,  that  he  was  at 
that  time  connected  with  the  English  Episcopal 
Missions  to  the  Mohawks,  commenced  in  the  Mo 
hawk  Valley  so  early  as  1702,  and  continued  down 
to  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Having 
been  employed  as  an  interpreter  by  one  of  the  mis 
sionaries  several  years  beforehand  as  the  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Ogilvie,  the  predecessor  of  Dr.  Barclay  in  that 
mission,  was  engaged,  in  the  year  1769,  in  revising, 
extending,  and  reprinting  the  Mohawk  Prayer  Book, 
embracing  additional  passages  of  Scripture,  some 
occasional  prayers,  and  Indian  versifications  of  sev 
eral  psalms,  it  is  highly  probable  that  Thayendane- 
gea  was  employed  as  an  assistant  in  that  labour, 
since  he  was  partial  to  exercises  of  that  description. 
In  the  year  1771,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stewart  conducted 
a  school  at  Fort  Hunter,  thirty  miles  below  Canajo- 
harie.  A  venerable  friend  of  the  author,  yet  living 
in  Albany,*  states,  that  being  a  pupil  in  Dr.  Stew 
art's  school  at  about  that  time,  he  had  opportunities 
of  seeing  Thayendanegea  at  that  place  frequently, 
and  formed  an  acquaintance  with  him,  which  con 
tinued,  interrupted  only  by  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  until  the  death  of  the  warrior.  He  then  form 
ed  an  excellent  opinion  of  the  young  chief  in  regard 
to  talents  and  good  disposition.  It  is  believed  that, 
from  the  shrewdness  of  his  sister  Molly,  and  the  in 
fluential  position  which  she  occupied  in  the  family 
of  Sir  William,  added  to  his  own  talents  and  sagaci 
ty,  he  was  much  employed  at  home  by  the  baronet, 
in  the  discharge  of  the  multifarious  duties  incident 
to  his  important  official  station.  He  was  also  fre 
quently  engaged  upon  distant  embassies  among  the 

*  Douw  Fonda,  Esq.,  son  of  Captain  Jelles  Fonda,  who  was  an  active 
and  very  efficient  officer,  both  in  the  Indian  and  military  service,  uudel 
Sir  William  Johnson. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  33 

western  tribes,  and  talents  and  tact  as  a  diplomatist 
of  the  forest  were  qualities  pertaining  to  his  char 
acter  through  life. 

Thayendanegea  was  thrice  married,  having  been 
twice  a  widower  before  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
His  first  two  wives  were  of  the  Oneida  tribe.  The 
Reverend  Dr.  Stewart  states  that  he  first  became  ac 
quainted  with  him  in  the  winter  of  1771.  He  was 
then  still  residing  at  Canajoharie,  on  visiting  which 
village,  the  doctor  says  he  found  him  comfortably 
settled,  in  a  good  house,  with  everything  necessary 
for  the  use  of  his  family,  consisting  of  a  wife,  in  the 
last  stage  of  consumption,  and  two  children,  a  son 
and  a  daughter.  His  wife  died  some  time  afterward, 
on  which  Thayendanegea  repaired  to  Fort  Hunter, 
and  resided  with  the  doctor  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time.  Doctor  Stewart  was  then  engaged  upon 
another  revision  of  the  Indian  Prayer  Book,  and  Jo 
seph  assisted  him  in  making  various  additional  trans 
lations.  He  likewise  assisted  the  doctor  in  transla 
ting  a  portion  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  a 
short  history  of  the  Bible,  together  with  a  brief  ex 
planation  of  the  Church  catechism,  into  the  Mohawk 
language.* 

It  is  stated  on  the  same  authority,  that  in  the  win 
ter  of  1772-3,  he  applied  to  Dr.  Stewart  to  marry 
him  to  the  half-sister  of  his  deceased  wrife,  but  the 
divine  refused  the  application,  on  the  ground  of  the 
forbidden  relationship.  Brant,  however,  vindicated 
the  act,  much  in  the  manner  of  white  widowers  de 
sirous  of  forming  the  like  connexion ;  arguing,  very 
naturally,  that  the  fact  of  the  relationship  would  se 
cure  a  greater  degree  of  tenderness  and  care  for  his 
children.  Still  the  Episcopal  minister  persisted  in 

*  Dr.  Stewart  states  that  he  was  directed  to  repair  to  New- York  and 
publish  these  books  at  the  expense  of  the  Missionary  Society,  but  wa« 
prevented  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  He  took  the  MSS.  to  Can 
ada,  and  afterward  delivered  them  to  Colonel  Daniel  Claus,  by  whom 
they  were  taken  to  England  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  they  were  ever 
published. 


34  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

his  refusal,  and  a  less  scrupulous  German  ecclesias- 
tic  gratified  his  desire  by  performing  the  ceremony 

It  was  at  about  the  same  period  of  his  life  that 
Thayendanegea  became  the  subject  of  serious  re 
ligious  impressions.  He  attached  himself  to  the 
Church  ;  was  a  chastened  and  regular  communicant 
at  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist ;  and  from  his 
serious  deportment,  and  the  anxiety  he  had  evei 
manifested  to  civilize  and  Christianize  his  people 
great  hopes  were  entertained  from  his  future  exer 
tions  in  that  cause.  No  doubt  has  ever  been  enter 
tained  of  his  sincerity  at  that  time  ;  and  it  has  been 
attributed  to  the  counteracting  influences  of  the 
dreadful  trade  of  war,  in  which  it  was  his  fortune 
afterward  again  so  actively  to  become  engaged, 
that  those  manifestations  of  Christian  utility  were 
effaced ;  entirely  eradicated  they  were  not,  as  will 
be  seen  at  a  subsequent  stage  of  the  career  of  this 
remarkable  man. 

In  compliance  with  Indian  custom,  he  selected  a 
bosom  friend,  during  that  period  of  his  life  we  are 
now  contemplating,  in  the  person  of  a  Lieutenant 
Provost,  a  half-pay  officer  residing  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley.  Those  unacquainted  with  Indian  usages 
are  not  probably  aware  of  the  intimacy,  or  the  im 
portance  attached  to  this  relationship.  The  select 
ed  friend  is,  in  fact,  the  counterpart  of  the  one  who 
chooses  him,  and  the  attachment  often  becomes  ro 
mantic  ;  they  share  each  other's  secrets,  and  are 
participants  of  each  other's  joys  and  sorrows.  As 
the  Revolutionary  troubles  were  approaching,  Lieu 
tenant  Provost  was  ordered  to  his  regiment  and  upon 
foreign  service,  greatly  to  the  regret  of  the  future 
chieftain.  His  lamentations  attracted  the  attention 
of  Dr.  Stewart,  who  advised  him  to  select  another 
friend,  offering  to  stand  as  a  substitute  himself.  But 
no  ;  the  young  chief  declared  that  such  a  transfer 
of  his  affections  could  not  take  place.  He  was  Cap 
tain  John's  friend,  and  another  such  friend  could  not 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  35 

be  in  existence  at  the  same  time.  Lieutenant  Pro 
vost  had  been  ordered  to  the  West  Indies ;  and,  in 
order  to  assure  him  of  the  strength  and  constancy 
of  his  attachment,  Thayendanegea  procured  an  en 
tire  Indian  costume  of  the  richest,  furs  he  could  ob 
tain,  which  was  sent  to  him  in  Jamaica.  This  inci 
dent  has  been  detailed,  not  because  in  itself  of  any 
particular  importance,  but  as  disclosing  an  excellent 
trait  of  character,  besides  illustrating  a  feature  of 
Indian  life  which  may  not  be  familiar  to  all.*  Oth 
er  events  will  now  occupy  the  attention  of  the  reader, 
in  which  the  Mohawk  chieftain  will  be  but  one  of 
many  actors,  though  seldom  an  obscure  one. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IT  has  been  usually  asserted  by  historians,  that 
the  first  blood  in  the  war  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion  was  shed  at  Lexington,  but  such  is  not  the 
fact.  The  Boston  massacre  of  1770  was  the  begin 
ning  of  that  contest,  so  fearful  in  its  commence 
ment,  so  doubtful  in  its  progress,  and  so  splendid  in 
its  results.  The  storm  had  even  then  been  gather 
ing  for  several  years,  and  the  public  mind  had  be 
come  exceedingly  feverish,  not  only  in  regard  to 
the  conduct  of  the  parent  government,  but  in  respect 
to  the  language  and  bearing  of  the  officers  of  the 
crown  stationed  in  the  colonies.  When,  moreover, 
the  people  of  Boston  were  subjected  to  what  they 
considered  a  still  greater  indignity,  by  the  quarter 
ing  of  soldiers  among  them,  the  irritation  was  such, 
that  but  a  small  degree  of  forecast  was  necessary 

*  A  similar  custom  prevailed  among-  the  ancient  Greeks.  Two  young 
•warriors  often  assumed  this  obligation  of  brotherhood,  which  was  taken 
with  peculiar  ceremonies,  and  maintained  inviolate  through  life. 


36  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

to  the  perception  of  an  approaching  explosion.  The 
affair  at  Gray's  Ropewalk,  on  the  2d  of  March,  in 
creased  the  mutual  exasperation  ;  and  the  massacre 
that  followed  on  the  5th  was  but  the  natural  conse 
quence.  The  first  blow  was  then  struck.  The 
town  was  thrown  into  commotion,  the  drums  beat 
to  arms  ;  and  the  news,  with  the  exaggerations  and 
embellishments  incident  to  all  occasions  of  alarm, 
spread  through  the  country  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning.  Everywhere,  throughout  the  wide  ex 
tent  of  the  old  thirteen  colonies,  it  created  a  strong 
sensation,  and  was  received  with  a  degree  of  indig 
nant  emotion  which  very  clearly  foretold  that  blood 
had  only  commenced  flowing;  and  although  five 
years  intervened  before  the  demonstration  at  Lex 
ington,  there  were  too  many  nervous  pens  and  elo 
quent  tongues  in  exercise  to  allow  those  feelings  to 
subside,  or  to  suffer  the  noble  spirit  of  liberty  that 
had  been  awakened  to  be  quenched.  Such  stirring 
orations  as  those  of  Joseph  Warren  were  not  utter 
ed  in  vain ;  and  so  often  as  the  anniversary  of  the 
5th  of  March  returned,  were  the  people  reminded 
by  him  or  by  his  compatriots  of  kindred  spirit,  "  The 
voice  of  your  brethren's  blood  cries  to  you  from  the 
ground."  The  admonition  had  its  effect,  and  the 
resolutions  of  vengeance  sank  deeper  and  deeper 
into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  until  the  fulness  of 
time  should  come. 

Sir  William  Johnson  was  too  observing  and  saga 
cious  not  to  note  the  signs  of  the  times.  He  saw 
the  gathering  tempest,  and  it  is  believed  to  have 
given  him  great  uneasiness.  His  sympathies,  ac 
cording  to  the  testimony  of  those  who  knew  him, 
were  undoubtedly  with  the  people.  He  was  from 
the  body  of  the  people  himself,  having  been  the  ar 
chitect  of  his  own  rank  and  fortunes  ;  and  those  who 
were  acquainted  with,  and  yet  survive  him,  repre 
sent  the  struggle  in  his  bosom  to  have  been  great, 
between  those  sympathies  and  his  own  strong  prin- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  37 

ciples  of  liberty  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  duty  to 
his  sovereign  on  the  other — a  sovereign  whom  he 
had  served  long  and  faithfully,  and  who,  in  turn,  had 
loaded  him  with4  princely  benefactions.  His  do 
mains  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk  were  exten 
sive  ;  and  his  influence,  through  a  large  number  of 
subordinate  officers  and  a  numerous  tenantry,  was 
correspondingly  great.  To  the  Indians,  not  only 
of  the  Six  Nations,  but  those  far  in  the  west  beyond, 
who  had  fallen  within  the  circle  of  his  influence  af 
ter  the  conquest  of  Canada  and  the  subjugation  of 
Pontiac,  he  had  been  as  a  father,  and  they  looked 
up  to  him  with  veneration.  Long  association  with 
him  and  great  respect  for  his  character — which, 
from  its  blunt  honesty,  frankness,  and  generosity, 
not  altogether  devoid  of  that  roughness  incident  to 
a  border  population,  was  well  calculated  to  secure 
the  attachment  of  such  people — had  also  given  to 
his  opinions  the  force  of  legal  authority  among  the 
colonists.  The  population,  aside  from  the  Indians, 
was  chiefly  Dutch,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Mohawk 
Valley  ;  while  in  the  interesting  vale  of  the  Scho- 
harie  Kill  and  the  upper  district  of  the  Mohawk,  it 
was  composed  of  the  descendants  of  the  German 
Palatinates,  .who  had  been  planted  there  fifty  years 
before.  It  was  not  at  that  period  a  very  intelli 
gent  population ;  and  the  name  of  Sir  William,  who 
had  been  their  friend  and  companion  in  peace,  and 
their  leader  in  war,  like  that  of  the  king,  was  a 
tower  of  strength.  It  was  very  natural,  therefore, 
that  their  opinions  upon  the  great  political  questions 
then  agitating  the  country  should  take  their  com 
plexion,  for  the  most  part,  from  those  entertained  by 
him.  Hence,  when  the  storm  of  civil  war  commen 
ced,  the  loyalists  in  that  valley  were  probably  more 
numerous,  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  the 
population,  than  in  almost  any  other  section  of  the 
northern  colonies. 

In  connexion  with  the  troubles  which  every  man 


38  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

of  ordinary  sagacity  could  not  but  perceive  vere 
fermenting,  Sir  William  visited  England  for  t?  ;  last 
time  in  the  autumn  of  1773,  returning  in  the  suc 
ceeding  spring.  He  probably  came  back  with  his 
loyal  feelings  somewhat  strengthened.  It  was  not 
his  fortune,  however,  good  or  ill,  to  see  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  tempest,  the  near  approaches  of  which 
he  had  been  watching  with  an  intenseness  of  obser 
vation  corresponding  with  the  magnitude  of  his  own 
personal  interests,  which  must  necessarily  be  in 
volved.  He  died  suddenly,  at  Johnson  Hall,  on  or 
about  the  24th  of  June,  1774. 

It  was  reported  by  his  enemies — or,  rather,  by  the 
enemies  of  the  crown — that  he  perished  by  his  own 
hand,  in  consequence  of  the  clouds  which  he  saw 
darkening  the  political  sky ;  and  such  an  impres 
sion  is  yet  very  generally  entertained.  The  tradi 
tion  is,  that  on  the  day  of  his  decease  he  had  receiv 
ed  despatches  from  England,  which  were  handed  to 
him  while  sitting  in  court,  and  with  which  he  imme 
diately  left  the  courthouse  and  walked  to  his  own 
house.  These  despatches,  it  was  afterward  report 
ed,  contained  instructions  to  him  to  use  his  influ 
ence  with  the  Indians  in  behalf  of  the  crown,  in  the 
event  of  hostilities.  Another  version  of  the  tradi 
tion  is,  that  on  the  day  in  question  he  had  received 
despatches  from  Boston,  the  complexion  of  which, 
in  his  own  mind,  indicated  that  a  civil  war  was  near 
and  inevitable.  In  such  an  event,  he  saw  that  he 
must  either  prove  recreant  to  his  principles,  or  t  «ke 
part  against  the  crown ;  and,  to  avoid  either  alter 
native,  it  has  been  extensively  believed  that  he  put 
an  end  to  his  life.  But  there  is  no  just  ground  for 
this  uncharitable  conclusion.  It  is  true  that  he  had, 
on  the  evening  of  the  24th,  received  despatches  from 
Massachusetts,  the  tenour  of  which,  by  excitement, 
may  have  hastened  the  malady  to  which  his  system 
was  predisposed.  It  was  a  busy  day  at  Johnstown. 
The  Circuit  Court  was  in  session,  at.  which,  howev 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  39 

er,  Sir  William  was  not  present,  being  engaged  in 
holding  a  treaty  with  some  of  the  Six  Nations.  In 
the  course  of  his  speech  to  the  Indians  on  that  oc 
casion,  he  alluded  to  the  despatches  he  had  received, 
and  stated  to  them  that  troubles  were  brewing  be 
tween  the  Americans  and  their  king,  advising  them 
not  to  abandon  the  cause  of  the  latter,  who  had  al 
ways  been  benevolent  and  kind  to  them.  "  What 
ever  may  happen,"  said  the  baronet,  "  you  must  not 
be  shaken  out  of  your  shoes." 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  Sir  William  was  ta 
ken  with  a  fit.  Colonel  Johnson,  his  son,  was  ab 
sent  at  the  Old  Fort,  distant  nine  miles.  An  ex 
press  was  sent  for  him,  and,  mounting  a  fleet  Eng 
lish  blood-horse,  he  rode  for  the  hall  with  all  possi 
ble  haste.  His  horse  fell  dead  when  within  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  house,  having  run  upward 
of  eight  miles  in  fifteen  minutes.  The  colonel  hired 
the  horse  of  some  one  standing  by,  and  pushed  for 
ward  to  the  hall.  On  entering  the  room,  he  found 
his  father  in  the  arms  of  a  faithful  domestic,  who  at 
tended  upon  his  person.  He  spoke  to  his  parent, 
but  received  no  answer ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  af 
terward  the  baronet  expired — of  apoplexy,  beyond 
a  doubt.  This  was  early  in  the  evening.  While 
the  judges  of  the  court  were  at  supper  in  the  village, 
one  mile  distant,  a  young  Mohawk  Indian  entered 
their  apartment  and  announced  the  event. 

Sir  William  was  succeeded  in  his  titles  and  es 
tates  by  his  son,  Sir  John  Johnson  ;  but  the  reins 
of  authority,  as  general  superintendent  of  the  In 
dian  department,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  son-in- 
law  of  Sir  William,  Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  who  had 
long  been  in  office  as  the  assistant  or  deputy  of  the 
old  baronet.  This  officer  was  assisted  by  Colonel 
Daniel  Glaus,  who  had  likewise  married  a  daughter 
of  Sir  William.  On  the  decease  of  his  father,  Sir 
John  also  succeeded  to  his  post  as  major-general  of 
the  militia. 


40  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

Of  the  early  life  of  Sir  John  Johnson  not  much  is 
known.  He  was  not  as  popular  as  his  father,  being 
less  social,  and  less  acquainted  with  human  nature 
and  the  springs  of  human  action.  He  accompanied 
his  father  on  some  of  his  warlike  expeditions,  how 
ever,  and  probably  saw  considerable  service.  Be 
fore  the  Revolution  commenced,  Sir  John  married 
Miss  Mary  Watts,  of  the  city  of  New- York.* 

The  successors  of  Sir  William  Johnson  did  not 
possess  the  same  degree  of  moral  power  over  the 
population  of  Tryon  county,  Indian  or  white,  as  had 
been  exercised  by  him.  But  they,  nevertheless,  de 
rived  essential  aid  from  "  Miss  Molly,"  who  was  a 
woman  of  talents  as  well  as  tact,  and  possessing 
great  influence  among  the  Indians,  who  were  her 
own  people.  Molly  was,  in  turn,  aided  by  the  coun 
sels  and  exertions  of  her  brother,  Joseph  Thayen- 
danegea,  who  had  been  much  in  the  service  of  Sir 
William  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  and  who, 
on  the  death  of  the  baronet,  was  advanced  to  the 
post  of  secretary  of  Guy  Johnson.  These  gentle 
men,  however  (Sir  John  Johnson,  Guy  Johnson,  and 
Colonel  Glaus),  living  in  great  splendour  at,  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Johnstown,  and  thus  allied 
with  the  family  of  a  powerful  Mohawk  sachem, 
were  still  enabled  to  exert  a  decided  influence,  es 
pecially  among  the  Indians.  They  were  likewise 
in  close  official  and  political  alliance  with  Colonel 
John  Butler,  an  opulent  and  influential  gentleman  of 
that  county,  and  his  son,  Walter  N.  Butler — names 
rendered  memorable,  if  nothing  worse,  by  associa 
tion  with  certain  bloody  transactions,  which  will  be 
developed  in  the  progress  of  the  present  volume. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  their  influence — and  no 
family  in  America  had  ever  been  regarded  with 
greater  deference  by  the  surrounding  population 
than  that  of  the  Johnsons— they  were  not  long  in 
discovering  that  the  principles  now  openly  avowed 

*  Sister  to  the  late  venerable  John  Watts,  who  died  in  September,  1836 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  41 

in  Massachusetts  could  not  be  confined  within  the 
limits  of  that  colony,  or  even  of  New-England. 
Though  less  openly  proclaimed,  yet,  as  the  waters 
of  a  fountain  ooze  through  the  earth  unseen  until 
they  have  gathered  force  enough  to  break  the  sur 
face  and  gush  forth,  so  was  it  with  the  principles  of 
liberty  sent  abroad  by  "  the  Boston  rebels,"  as  they 
worked  their  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  ; 
and  the  successors  of  Sir  William  Johnson  were -not 
long  in  discovering  that,  although  they  could  still 
count  among  their  retainers  a  large  number  of  ad 
herents,  the  leaven  of  civil  liberty  had  been  more 
deeply  at  work  than  they  had  desired,  or  probably 
supposed.  The  celebrated  "  Boston  Port  Bill,"  en 
acted  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  the  tea 
in  that  harbour  in  1773,  had  gone  into  operation  only 
a  month  preceding  the  death  of  Sir  William  ;  and, 
in  the  month  subsequent  to  his  decease,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  in  the  Palatine  district,  warmly 
seconding  the  proposition  of  Massachusetts  for  the 
assembling  of  a  General  Congress,  for  mutual  con 
sultation  and  counsel  in  the  existing  posture  of  the 
political  affairs  of  the  colonies.  The  original  draught 
of  the  proceedings  of  that  meeting  is  yet  in  exist 
ence,  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Hendrick  Frey, 
a  patriot  who  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  is  but  re 
cently  deceased.  They  breathed  the  genuine  spirit 
of  freedom,  and,  as  a  declaration  of  rights,  are  well 
entitled  to  a  place  among  the  fervid  papers  of  that 
day,  which  were  so  powerful  in  their  operation  upon 
the  public  mind.  After  setting  forth  the  concern 
and  sorrow  felt  by  the  meeting  at  the  shutting  up 
the  port  of  Boston,  and  the  tendency  of  the  acts  of 
Parliament  for  raising  a  revenue  in  the  American 
colonies,  which  they  held  to  be  an  abridgment  of 
the  privileges  of  the  people,  the  meeting  resolved, 
1st.  That  they  recognised  the  king  as  their  lawful 
sovereign,  would  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to 
him,  and  would,  with  their  lives  and  fortunes,  sup- 

VOT,  r.— n 


42  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

port  and  maintain  him  on  the  throne  of  his  ances 
tors,  and  the  just  dependance  of  the  colonies  upor 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain.  2d.  That  they  consid 
ered  it  their  greatest  happiness  to  be  governed  03 
British  laws,  and  would  pay  cheerful  submission  tc 
them,  as  far  as  they  could  do  so  consistently  witt 
the  security  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  English 
subjects,  "  which  were  so  sacred  that  they  could  not 
permit  them  to  be  violated"  3d.  That  all  taxes  with 
out  their  own  consent,  or  the  consent  of  their  rep 
resentatives,  were  unjust  and  unconstitutional ;  and 
the  acts  of  Parliament  upon  the  subject  were  de 
nounced,  as  obvious  encroachments  upon  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  British  subjects.  4th.  That  the  act 
closing  the  port  of  Boston  was  arbitrary,  and  op 
pressive  to  the  inhabitants,  whom  they  considered 
to  be  suffering  in  the  common  cause.  5th.  That 
they  would  unite  with  their  brethren  elsewhere  in 
relieving  the  necessities  of  the  suffering  poor  in 
Boston,  and  in  "  anything  tending  to  support  our 
rights  and  liberties."  6th.  Approving  of  the  calling 
of  a  General  Congress,  and  of  the  five  members  who 
had  already  been  appointed  by  their  brethren  of 
New- York.  7th.  That  they  would  abide  by  such 
regulations  as  might  be  agreed  upon  by  the  said 
Congress.  8th.  Appointing  a  committee  of  corre 
spondence  for  that  district,*  and  recommending  the 
other  districts  of  the  county  to  do  the  same. 

The  Congress  met  kin  Philadelphia  in  September, 
1774,  and  after  adopting  a  declaration  of  rights,  and 
setting  forth  wherein  those  rights  had  been  violated, 
they  agreed  upon  an  address  to  the  king,  exhibiting 
the  grievances  of  the  colonies,  and  praying  for  his 
majesty's  interposition  for  their  removal.  An  ad 
dress  to  the  people  of  British  America  was  likewise 
adopted,  together  with  an  appeal  to  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  as  also  a  letter  to  the  people  of  Cana 
da.  The  Congress  then  adjourned,  to  meet  again  in 

*  Christopher  P  Yates,  Isaac  Paris,  and  John  Frey 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  43 

May,  1775.  The  papers  put  forth  from  that  august 
assembly  had  a  powerful  effect  upon  the  public 
mind.  They  were  also  highly  extolled  by  Lord 
Chatham  in  the  House  of  Peers,  who  declared,  that 
"  In  all  his  reading  and  observation — and  it  had  been 
his  favourite  study,  for  he  had  read  Thucydides,  and 
had  studied  and  admired  the  master  states  of  the 
world — for  solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity, 
arid  wisdom  of  conclusion,  under  such  complication 
of  circumstances,  no  nation  or  body  of  men  could 
stand  in  preference  to  the  General  Congress  at 
Philadelphia." 

The  Provincial  Assembly  of  New- York  was  the 
only  legislature  in  the  colonies  that  withheld  its  ap 
probation  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress — 
the  loyalists  of  that  colony  being,  from  a  variety  of 
causes,  more  numerous  and  influential  than  in  any 
other  of  the  provinces.  In  the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk 
they  were  particularly  zealous  and  active  ;  and  the 
Johnson  family,  with  their  associates,  were  cease 
less  in  their  efforts  to  divert  the  revolutionary  spirit, 
which  was  but  too  obviously  abroad. 

But,  like  the  bitter  plant  in  the  vegetable  pharma 
copoeia,  the  principles  of  liberty  only  thrive  more 
rapidly  beneath  a  pressure  ;  and  the  spark  which  had 
been  struck  in  the  Palatine  district  they  not  only 
found  it  impossible  to  extinguish,  but  a  measure  of 
their  own  adoption  had  the  effect  of  kindling  it  into 
a  blaze  ;  and,  once  kindled,  the  fire  of  liberty  is  as 
inextinguishable  as  the  Greek. 

In  Massachusetts,  however,  other  menacing  meas 
ures  besides  the  passage  of  resolutions  were  adopted 
towards  the  close  of  1774.  Governor  Gage  having 
issued  writs  for  the  holding  of  a  General  Assembly, 
in  October,  afterward  countermanded  the  writs  by 
proclamation.  But  the  new  members,  to  the  num 
ber  of  ninety,  maintaining  the  illegality  of  the  proc 
lamation,  met  notwithstanding.  Neither  the  gov 
ernor,  nor  any  substitute,  appearing  to  complete 


44  BORDER   WARS   OF    THE 

their  organization,  they  formed  themselves  into  a 
Provincial  Congress,  and  adjourned  to  Concord. 
From  Concord,  after  some  collisions  with  the  gov 
ernor,  they  removed  to  Cambridge  ;  and  in  the 
course  of  their  sittings  measures  were  adopted  for 
the  public  defence,  and  the  organization  of  minute 
men,  to  the  number  of  twelve  thousand.  Connecti 
cut  and  New-Hampshire  were  requested  to  augment 
the  number  to  twenty  thousand.  Governor  Gage 
complained  bitterly  that  the  edicts  of  this  Congress 
were  implicitly  obeyed  throughout  the  country.  Be 
fore  the  year  had  expired,  a  royal  proclamation  was 
received,  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  military 
stores  to  America.  This  document  caused  general 
indignation.  In  Rhode  Island  and  New-Hampshire 
the  people  at  once  seized  upon  the  arms  and  ordnance 
in  their  public  places  and  garrisons,  and  other  cor 
responding  measures  were  adopted  by  the  colonial 
authorities.  In  the  more  southern  provinces  signs 
of  jealousy  and  discontent  began  to  be  more  unequiv 
ocally  manifested.  A  meeting  of  the  military  offi 
cers  of  Virginia,  under  Lord  Dunmore,  was  held,  at 
which  resolutions,  professing  loyalty  and  looking 
rebellion,  were  adopted.  The  Provincial  Congress 
of  Maryland  approved  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
General  Congress  ;  and  in  South  Carolina,  Judge 
Dayton,  in  a  memorable  charge  to  a  grand-jury  at 
Camden,  set  the  ball  in  motion  in  that  colony. 
Doctor  Franklin,  being  in  London,  was  required  to 
attend  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  for  Plantations, 
to  whom  had  been  referred  the  petition  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Assembly  for  the  removal  of  Governor 
Hutchinson  and  Lieutenant-governor  Oliver.  He 
supported  the  petition,  and  was,  the  day  after,  dis 
missed  by  the  crown  from  the  office  of  postmaster 
for  the  colonies. 

It  may  readily  be  conceived  that  an  excitement 
thus  increasing  from  day  to  day,  and  thus  rapidly 
extending  the  circle  of  its  influence,  would  not  long 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTJON.  45 

be  confined  to  measures  of  remonstrance  and  peti 
tion.  Most  unfortunate  was  it,  therefore,  that  just  at 
this  conjuncture,  while  all  sagacious  men  saw  by 
the  shadows  what  events  were  coming,  and  all  good 
men  were  solicitous  for  the  preservation  of  the 
character  and  augmentation  of  the  physical  strength 
of  the  country,  a  small  band  of  bad  ones  adopted  a 
course  well  fitted  to  awaken  the  jealousy  of  the 
whole  Indian  race,  and  exasperate  a  portion  of  them 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  anger  and  revenge.  It  was 
evident  that  the  colonies  were  about  to  measure 
swords  with  one  of  the  strongest  powers  in  Chris 
tendom,  and  to  strike  for  freedom.  True  wisdom, 
therefore,  required  that  the  clouds  of  Indians  dark 
ening  more  than  a  thousand  miles  of  our  border,  and 
in  the  North  forming  an  intermediate  power  between 
our  own  settlements  and  the  country  of  the  antici 
pated  foe,  should  be  at  least  conciliated  into  neu 
trality,  if  not  courted  into  an  alliance.  But  a  con 
trary  course  was  taken  by  some  of  the  frontier-men 
of  Virginia,  and  a  hostile  feeling  awakened  by  a  suc 
cession  of  outrages,  unprovoked  and  more  cruel  than 
savages,  as  such,  could  have  committed.  The  well- 
informed  reader  will  at  once  anticipate  that  refer 
ence  is  now  had  to  the  hostilities  upon  the  north 
western  frontier  of  Virginia,  commonly  known  as 
CRESAP'S  WAR,  from  the  agency  of  a  subaltern  officer 
of  that  name,  whose  wanton  cruelty  provoked  it,  and 
one  striking  event  of  which  has  rendered  every 
American  ear  familiar  with  the  name  of  LOGAN,  the 
celebrated  "  Mingo  Chief."* 

The  wars  and  the  conquests  of  the  Six  Nations 
had  been  the  cause  of  transplanting  many  families, 
among  whom  were  some  of  distinction,  over  the 
countries  subjected  to  their  arms.  Among  these 
was  the  family  of  Logan,  the  son  of  Shikellimus,  a 
distinguished  Cayuga  sachem,  who  had  removed 

*  Mingo,  Mengwe,  Maqun.s,  and  Iroquois,  are  all  only  different  name* 
applied  to  the  Six  Nations. 


BORDER    WARS    OF  THE 

from  the  particular  location  of  his  own  tribe  to 
Shamokin,  or  Canestoga,  within  the  borders  of  Penn 
sylvania,  where  he  executed  the  duties  of  principal 
chief  of  those  of  the  Six  Nations  residing  on  the 
Susquehanna.  He  was  a  man  of  consequence  and 
humanity,  and  one  of  the  earliest  to  encourage  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  by  Count  Zinzendorf. 
He  was  a  great  friend  to  the  celebrated  James  Logan, 
who  accompanied  William  Penn  on  his  last  voyage 
to  America,  and  who  subsequently  became  distin 
guished  in  the  colony  for  his  learning  and  benevo 
lence.  Hence  the  name  of  the  famous  son  of  Shi- 
kellimus,  so  closely  identified  with  the  scenes  about 
to  be  described. 

Logan  had  removed  from  his  father's  lodge  at 
Shamokin  to  the  Shawanese  country  on  the  Ohio, 
where  he  had  become  a  chief.  He  was  a  friend  of 
the  white  men,  and  one  of  the  noblest  of  his  race  ; 
not  only  by  right  of  birth,  but  in  consideration  of 
his  own  character.  During  the  Indian  wars  con 
nected  with  the  contest  with  France,  which  were 
continued  for  a  considerable  time  after  the  conquest 
of  Canada,  he  took  no  part,  save  in  the  character  of 
a  peacemaker. 

The  circumstances  which  transformed  this  good 
and  just  man  from  a  sincere  friend  into  a  bitter  foe, 
will  appear  in  the  following  narrative  :  It  happened, 
in  April  or  May  of  1774,  that  a  party  of  land-jobbers, 
while  engaged  in  exploring  lands  near  the  Ohio  Riv 
er,  were  robbed,  or  pretended  to  have  been  robbed, 
of  a  number  of  horses  by  the  Indians.  The  leader 
of  the  land-jobbers  was  Captain  Michael  Cresap. 
Alarmed  at  the  depredation  upon  their  property,  or 
affecting  to  be  so,  Cresap  and  his  party  determined 
to  make  war  upon  the  Indians,  without  investiga 
tion,  and  irrespective,  as  a  matter  of  course,  of  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  those  whom  they  should  at 
tack.  On  the  same  day,  falling  in  with  two  In 
dians,  Cresap  and  his  men  killed  them.  Hearing, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  47 

moreover,  of  a  still  larger  party  of  Indians  encamped 
at  some  distance  below  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  Wheeling,  the  white  barbarians  proceeded  thither, 
and,  after  winning  the  confidence'of  the  sons  of  the 
forest  by  pretended  friendship,  fell  upon  and  slaugh 
tered  several  of  their  number,  among  whom  were  a 
part  of  the  family  of  the  white  man's  friend — Logan. 

Soon  after  this  atrocious  affair,  another  followed, 
equally  flagitious.  There  was  a  white  settlement  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  Ohio,  about  thirty  miles  above 
Wheeling,  among  the  leading  men  of  which  were 
one  named  Daniel  Greathouse,  and  another  named 
Tomlinson.  A  party  of  Indians,  assembled  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river,  having  heard  of  the  mur 
ders  committed  by  Cresap,  determined  to  avenge 
their  death,  of  which  resolution  Greathouse  was  ad 
monished  by  a  friendly  squaw,  who  advised  him  to 
escape,  while  he  was  reconnoitring  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  their  numbers.  He  had  crossed  the 
river  with  thirty-two  men  under  his  command,  and 
secreted  them  for  the  purpose  of  falling  upon  the 
Indians ;  but  finding  that  they  were  too  strong  for 
him,  he  changed  his  plan  of  operations,  recrossed  the 
river,  and,  with  a  show  of  friendship,  invited  them 
over  to  an  entertainment.  Without  suspicion  of 
treachery,  the  Indians  accepted  the  invitation,  and, 
while  engaged  in  drinking — some  of  them  to  a  state 
of  intoxication — they  were  set  upon  and  murdered 
in  cold  blood.  Here,  again,  fell  two  more  of  the 
family  of  Logan — a  brother  and  sister,  the  latter  be 
ing  in  a  situation  of  peculiar  delicacy.  The  Indians 
who  had  remained  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
hearing  the  noise  of  the  treacherous  attack,  flew  to 
their  canoes  to  rescue  their  friends.  This  move 
ment  had  been  anticipated  ;  and  sharp-shooters,  sta 
tioned  in  ambuscade,  shot  numbers  of  them  in  their 
canoes,  and  compelled  the  others  to  return. 

These  dastardly  transactions  were  enacted  on  the 
24th  of  May.  They  were  soon  followed  by  anoth- 


48  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

er  outrage,  which,  though  of  less  magnitude,  was 
not  less  atrocious  in  its  spirit,  while  it  was  even 
more  harrowing  to  the  feelings  of  the  Indians.  The 
event  referred  to  was  the  murder,  by  a  white  man, 
of  an  aged  and  inoffensive  Delaware  chief,  named 
the  Bald  Eagle.  He  had  for  years  consorted  more 
with  the  white  people  than  his  own,  visiting  those 
most  frequently  who  entertained  him  best.  At  the 
time  of  his  murder  he  had  been  on  a  visit  to  the  fort 
at  the  north  of  the  Kanhavva,  and  was  killed  while 
alone,  paddling  his  canoe.  The  man  who  commit 
ted  the  murder,  it  was  said,  had  been  a  sufferer  at 
the  hands  of  the  Indians  ;  but  he  had  never  been  in 
jured  by  the  object  upon  whom  he  wreaked  his  ven 
geance.  After  tearing  the  scalp  from  his  head,  the 
white  savage  placed  the  body  in  a  sitting  posture  in 
the  canoe,  and  sent  it  adrift  down  the  stream.  The 
voyage  of  the  dead  chief  was  observed  by  many, 
who  supposed  him  living,  and  upon  one  of  his  ordi 
nary  excursions.  When,  however,  the  deed  be 
came  known,  his  nation  were  not  slow  in  avowals 
of  vengeance.  Equally  exasperated,  at  about  the 
same  time,  were  the  Shawanese  against  the  whites, 
by  the  murder  of  one  of  their  favourite  chiefs,  Silver 
Heels,  who  had,  in  the  kindest  manner,  undertaken 
to  escort  several  white  traders  across  the  woods 
from  the  Ohio  to  Albany,  a  distance  of  nearly  two 
hundred  miles. 

The  consequence  of  these  repeated  outrages,  per 
petrated  by  white  barbarians,  was  the  immediate 
commencement  of  an  Indian  war,  the  first  leader  of 
which  was  Logan,  who,  with  a  small  party  of  only 
eight  warriors,  made  a  sudden  and  unexpected  de 
scent  upon  a  Muskingum  settlement,  with  complete 
success.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  great  num 
bers  of  men,  women,  and  children  fell  victims  to 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  Logan,  howev 
er,  though  smarting  under  a  keen  sense  of  his  own 
wrongs,  set  his  face  against  the  practice  of  putting 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  49 

prisoners  to  the  torture,  so  far  as  he  could.  In  one 
instance,  he  so  instructed  a  prisoner  doomed  to  run 
the  guantlet,  as  to  enable  him  to  escape  without  re 
ceiving  essential  injury.  In  another  case,  with  his 
own  hand  he  severed  the  cord  which  bound  a  pris 
oner  to  the  stake,  and  by  his  influence  procured  his 
adoption  into  an  Indian  family. 

To  punish  these  atrocities,  provoked,  as  all  au 
thorities  concur  in  admitting,  by  the  whites,  a  vig 
orous  campaign  was  undertaken  by  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  Lord  Dunmore,  with  a  force  of  between 
two  and  three  thousand  men.  Eleven  hundred  of 
these  provincials,  mostly  riflemen,  and  comprising 
much  of  the  chivalry  of  Virginia,  constituting  the 
left  wing,  were  intrusted  to  the  command  of  Gen 
eral  Andrew  Lewis,  with  instructions  to  march  di 
rect  for  Point  Pleasant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Kanhawa ;  while  his  lordship,  proceeding  with  the 
right  wing,  was  to  cross  the  Ohio  at  a  higher  point, 
and  fall  upon  the  Indian  towns  in  their  rear.  For 
reasons  never  satisfactorily  explained,  although  the 
cause  of  some  controversy  at  the  time,  there  was  a 
failure  of  the  expected  co-operation  on  the  part  of 
Lord  Dunmore. 

General  Lewis  commenced  his  march  on  the  llth 
of  September.  His  course  was  direct,  through  a 
trackless  wilderness,  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles, 
over  which  all  the  supplies  of  the  army  were  to  be 
transported  on  pack-horses.  The  march  was  very 
slow  and  tedious,  occupying  nineteen  days.  Ar 
rived  at  or  near  the  junction  of  the  Kanhawa  with 
the  Ohio,  Lewis  waited  eight  or  nine  days  to  obtain 
tidings  from  Lord  Dunmore,  but  heard  not  a  syl 
lable. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  October,  two 
of  Lewis's  scouts,  who  were  about  a  mile  in  ad 
vance,  were  fired  upon  by  a  large  body  of  Indians ; 
one  of  the  scouts  was  killed,  and  the  other  escaped 
to  camp  with  the  intelligence.  It  was  yet  half  an 

VOL.  I.— E 


50  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

hour  to  sunrise,  and  instant  dispositions  were  made 
to  move  forward  and  attack.  Just  as  the  sim  was 
rising,  the  Indians,  who  were  advancing  upon  a  like 
errand,  were  met,  and  an  engagement  ensued,  which 
continued  with  greater  or  less  severity  through  the 
day.  The  Virginians  had  bivouacked  upon  a  point 
of  land  between  the  two  rivers,  giving  the  Indians 
an  important  advantage  of  position,  inasmuch  as,  if 
defeated,  retreat  would  be  impossible  for  the  former, 
while  the  latter  could  fly  at  their  pleasure.  But 
such  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  Indians.  Their 
numbers  have  been  variously  stated  from  eight  to 
fifteen  hundred,  consisting  of  Shawanese,  Dela- 
wares,  Mingoes,  Wyandots,  Cayugas,  and  several 
other  tribes,  led  in  chief  by  Logan,  assisted  by  oth 
er  celebrated  chiefs,  among  whom  were  Cornstock, 
Ellenipsico  (his  son),  and  the  Red  Eagle. 

The  onset  was  impetuous  on  both  sides.  Colonel 
Charles  Lewis  led  the  right  of  the  Virginians,  and 
was  in  advance.  He  fell  almost  at  the  first  fire, 
mortally  wounded,  and  shortly  afterward  expired, 
having  walked  back  to  his  own  camp.  The  Virgin 
ians,  like  the  Indians,  sought  every  advantage  by 
fighting  from  the  shelter  of  trees  and  bushes ;  but  in 
the  first  part  of  the  engagement  the  advantages  were 
with  the  Indians,  and  two  of  the  Virginia  regiments', 
after  severe  loss,  especially  in  officers,  were  com 
pelled  to  give  way.  Colonel  Fleming,  who  com 
manded  the  left,  though  severely  wounded,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  action,  by  two  balls  through  his 
arm  and  another  through  the  breast,  bravely  kept 
the  field  for  some  time,  cheering  his  men,  and,  ur 
ging  them  not  to  lose  an  inch  of  ground,  directed 
them  to  outflank  the  enemy.  But  the  assault  of  the 
Indians  was  vigorous,  and  their  fire  so  severe,  that 
the  left,  like  the  right,  was  yielding,  when,  at  the 
most  critical  moment,  Colonel  Field's  regiment  was 
brought  with  great  spirit  and  resolution  into  the  ac 
tion,  by  which  timely  movement  the  fortunes  of  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  51 

lay  were  retrieved.  The  impetuosity  of  the  Indians 
was  checked,  and  they  were  in  turn  forced  to  re 
treat,  falling  back  to  avail  themselves  of  a  rude 
breastwork  of  logs  and  brushwood,  which  they  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  construct  for  the  occasion. 
Colonel  Field  was  killed  at  the  moment  his  gallant 
regiment  had  changed  the  aspect  of  the  battle,  and 
he  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Isaac  Shelby,  after 
ward  the  brave  and  hardy  old  Governor  of  Kentucky. 
The  Indians  made  a  valiant  stand  at  their  breast 
work,  defending  their  position  until  nearly  nightfall. 
For  several  hours  every  attempt  to  dislodge  them 
was  unsuccessful,  the  savages  fighting  like  men  who 
had  not  only  their  soil  and  homes  to  protect,  but 
deep  wrongs  to  avenge.  "  The  voice  of  the  mighty 
Cornstock  was  often  heard  during  the  day,  above 
the  din  of  battle,  calling  out  to  his  warriors,  '  Be 
strong!  Be  strong!'  And  when,  by  the  repeated 
charge  of  the  Virginians,  some  of  his  warriors  began 
to  waver,  he  is  said  to  have  sunk  his  tomahawk  into 
the  head  of  a  coward  who  was  attempting  to  fly." 

The  action  had  continued  extremely  hct  until  past 
twelve  o'clock,  after  which  it  was  abated  at  inter 
vals,  though  a  scattering  fire  was  kept  up  most  of 
the  time  during  the  day.  Towards  night,  finding 
that  each  successive  attack  upon  the  line  of  the  In 
dians  in  front  but  weakened  his  own  force,  without 
making  any  perceptible  impression  upon  the  Indians, 
and  rightly  judging  that,  if  the  latter  were  not  rout 
ed  before  dark,  the  contest  must  be  resumed  under 
at  least  doubtful  circumstances  on  the  following  day, 
Lewis  made  a  final  attempt  to  throw  a  body  of  troops 
into  the  rear.  Three  companies  were  detached  upon 
this  service,  led  by  Captain  Shelby.  The  ground 
favoured  the  enterprise.  Availing  themselves  of  the 
tall  weeds  and  grass  upon  the  bank  of  a  creek  flow 
ing  into  the  Kanhawa,  those  companies  passed  the 
flank  of  the  Indian  ranks  unobserved,  and,  falling 
vigoi-ously  upon  their  rear,  drove  them  from  their 


52  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

lines  with  precipitation.  Night  came  on,  and  the 
Indians,  supposing  that  re-enforcements  of  the  Vir 
ginians  had  arrived,  fled  across  the  Ohio,  and  con 
tinued  their  retreat  to  the  Scioto.  They  had  not 
the  satisfaction  of  taking  many  scalps — the  bodies 
of  a  few  stragglers  only  falling  into  their  posses 
sion.  In  the  official  account,  it  was  stated  that  they 
scalped  numbers  of  their  own  warriors  to  prevent 
the  Virginians  from  doing  it.  Of  those  Indians  first 
killed,  the  Virginians  scalped  upward  of  twenty. 
The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  never  known.  It  must, 
however,  have  been  severe  ;  since,  in  addition  to  the 
killed  and  wounded  borne  away,  numbers  of  the 
slain  were  thrown  into  the  river,  and  thirty-three 
of  their  warriors  were  found  dead  upon  the  field  on 
the  following  day.  The  loss  of  the  Virginians  was 
likewise  severe.  Two  of  their  colonels  were  kill 
ed,  four  captains,  many  subordinate  officers,  and  be 
tween  fifty  and  sixty  privates,  besides  a  much  lar 
ger  number  wounded.* 

Arrived  at  Chilicothe,  a  council  of  the  Indians  was 
convened  to  debate  upon  the  question  what  was  next 
to  be  done.  Cornstock,  it  was  said,  had  been  op 
posed  to  giving  battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  but  had  re 
solved  to  do  his  best  on  being  overruled  in  council. 
Having  been  defeated,  as  he  had  anticipated,  he  de 
manded  of  the  council,  "What  shall  we  do  now  ?  The 
Long  Knives  are  coming  upon  us  by  two  routes.  Shall 
we  turn  out  and  fight  them  ?"  No  response  being 
made  to  the  question,  he  continued,  "  Shall  we  kill 
all  our  squaws  and  children,  and  then  fight  until  we  are 

*  Doddridge  states  the  number  of  killed  at  75,  and  of  wounded  at  140 
In  the  estimate  given  in  the  text,  Thatcher  has  been  followed.  It  is 
stated  by  Drake,  that  a  stratagem  was  resorted  to  in  this  action  by  the 
Virginians,  similar  to  one  that  had  been  practised  in  the  early  New-Eng 
land  war  of  the  Indians  at  Pawtucket.  The  Virginians,  concealing' 
themselves  behind  trees,  would  hold  out  their  hats  from  behind  and  draw 
the  fire  of  the  Indians  ;  the  hat  being  instantly  dropped,  the  Indian  war 
rior  who  had  brought  it  down,  supposing  that  he  had  killed  the  owner, 
would  rush  forward  to  secure  the  scalp  of  his  supposed  victim,  only  to  fall 
beneath  an  unexpected  tomahawk. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  53 

all  killed  ourselves  ?"  As  before,  all  were  silent ; 
whereupon  Cornstock  struck  his  tomahawk  into  the 
war-post  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  council,  and 
remarked,  with  emphasis,  "Since  you  are  not  inclined 
to  fight,  I  will  go  and  make  peace."  Saying  which, 
he  repaired  to  the  camp  of  Lord  Dunmore,  who,  hav 
ing  descended  the  Ohio,  was  now  approaching  the 
Scioto. 

Meantime,  General  Lewis,  having  buried  his  dead 
and  made  the  necessary  dispositions  for  an  advance 
into  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  moved  forward 
in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  resolved  upon  his  extermi 
nation.  He  was  soon  afterward  met  by  a  counter- 
order  from  Lord  Dunmore,  which  he  disregarded ; 
and  it  was  not  until  the  governor  visited  Lewis  in 
his  own  camp  that  a  reluctant  obedience  was  ex 
acted.  Meantime  the  negotiation  proceeded,  but  un 
der  circumstances  of  distrust  on  the  part  of  the  Vir 
ginians,  who  were  careful  to  admit  only  a  small 
number  of  the  Indians  into  their  encampment  at  any 
one  time.  The  chief  speaker  on  the  part  of  the  In 
dians  was  Cornstock,  who  did  not  fail  to  charge  the 
whites  with  being  the  sole  cause  of  the  war,  enu 
merating  the  provocations  which  the  Indians  had 
received,  and  dwelling  with  peculiar  force  upon  the 
murders  committed  in  the  family  of  Logan.*  This 
lofty  chief  himself  refused  to  appear  at  the  council. 
He  was  in  favour  of  peace,  but  his  proud  spirit  scorn 
ed  to  ask  for  it ;  and  he  remained  in  his  cabin,  brood 
ing  in  melancholy  silence  over  his  own  wrongs. 

Of  so  much  importance  was  his  name  considered 
by  Lord  Dunmore,  however,  that  a  special  messen- 

*  Cornstock  was  a  truly  great  man.  Colonel  Wilson,  who  was  present 
at  the  interview  between  the  chief  and  Lord  Dunmore,  thus  speaks  of 
the  chieftain's  bearing1  on  the  occasion :  "  When  he  arose  he  was  in  no 
wise  confused  or  daunted,  but  spoke  in  a  distinct  and  audible  voice,  with 
out  stammering'  or  repetition,  and  with  peculiar  emphasis.  His  looks, 
while  addressing  Dunmore,  were  truly  grand  and  majestic,  yet  graceful 
and  attractive.  I  have  heard  the  first  orators  in  Virginia,  Patrick  Henry 
and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  but  never  have  1  heard  one  whose  poweis  of 
delivery  surpassed  those  of  Cornstock." 


54  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ger  was  despatched  to  ascertain  whether  he  would 
accede  to  the  articles  of  peace.  This  messenger 
was  Colonel  John  Gibson,  an  officer  in  Dunmore's 
army,  and  afterward  a  man  of  some  distinction. 
The  "  Mingo  Chief"  did  not  dissent  from  the  terms, 
but  gave  not  his  sanction  without  an  eloquent  re 
hearsal  of  his  grievances,  relating  in  full  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  butchery  of  his  own  entire  fami 
ly,  to  avenge  which  atrocities  he  had  taken  up  the 
hatchet.  His  conference  with  Gibson  took  place  in 
a  solitary  wood,  and,  at  its  close,  he  charged  him 
with  the  celebrated  speech  to  Lord  Dunmore,  which 
has  become  familiar  wherever  the  English  language 
is  spoken : 

"  I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say  if  he  ever  en 
tered  Logan's  cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not 
meat ;  if  ever  he  came  cold  and  naked,  and  he  clo 
thed  him  not.  During  the  course  of  the  last  long 
and  bloody  war,  Logan  remained  idle  in  his  cabin, 
an  advocate  for  peace.  Such  was  my  love  for  the 
whites,  that  my  countrymen  pointed  as  they  passed, 
and  said,  '  Logan  is  the  friend  of  the  white  men.'  I 
had  even  thought  to  live  with  you,  but  for  the  inju 
ries  ~0f  one  man.  Colonel  Cresap,  the  last  spring, 
in  cold  blood  and  unprovoked,  murdered  all  the  re 
lations  of  Logan,  not  even  sparing  my  women  and 
children.  There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the 
veins  of  any  living  creature.  This  called  on  me  for 
revenge.  I  have  sought  it ;  I  have  killed  many ;  I 
have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my  country, 
I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace  ;  but  do  not  harbour 
a  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  nev 
er  felt  fear.  He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save 
his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan]  Not 
one." 

This  speech  has  ever  been  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  passages  in  the  English  language. 
Mr.  Jefferson  remarked  of  it,  "  I  may  challenge  the 
whole  orations  of  Demosthenes,  and  of  Cicero,  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  55 

of  any  more  eminent  orator,  if  Europe  has  furnish 
ed  more  eminent,  to  produce  a  single  passage  supe 
rior  to  it ;"  and  an  American  statesman  and  schol 
ar,*  scarcely  less  illustrious  than  the  author  of  this 
noble  eulogium,  has  subscribed  to  that  opinion. f 

Lord  Dunmore,  it  is  believed,  was  sincerely  desi 
rous  of  peace — from  motives  of  humanity,  we  are 
ready  to  believe,  although  writers  of  less  charity 
have  attributed  his  course  to  a  more  unworthy  feel 
ing.  Peace,  therefore,  was  the  result  of  the  council. 
But  it  will  readily  be  conceded  that  the  Indian  war 
riors  could  not  have  retired  to  their  respective  tribes 
and  homes  with  any  feelings  of  particular  friendship 
towards  the  white  men.  On  the  contrary,  the  pain 
of  defeat,  and  the  loss  of  the  warriors  who  fell,  were 
causes  of  irritating  reflection,  in  addition  to  the  ori 
ginal  and  grievous  wrong  they  had  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  Cresap  and  Greathouse.  The  Six  Nations, 

*  De  Witt  Clinton. 

t  Thatcher's  Indian  Biography.  It  is  due  in  candour  to  state,  that 
the  authenticity  of  this  celebrated  speech  has  been  questioned.  On  the 
first  publication  of  Jefferson's  Notes,  the  relatives  and  friends  of  Cresap 
made  a  great  outcry  against  the  charge  of  his  having  murdered  Logan's 
family.  Among  other  arguments  in  his  defence,  it  was  contended  that 
the  speech  attributed  to  Logan  had  in  substance,  and  almost  in  words, 
been  delivered  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  by  a  sachem  named 
Louan,  twenty  years  before  the  date  assigned  to  it  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  The 
speech  referred  to  was  discovered  in  the  travels  of  Robin,  a  Frenchman, 
•who  visited  the  colonies  at  an  early  period  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
The  passage  stands  thus  in  the  English  translation  of  "  Robin's  New 
Travels  in  America :" 

"  Speech  of  the  Ravage  Lonan,  in  a  General  Assembly,  as  it  was  sent 
to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  anno  1754  : 

"  '  Lonan  will  no  longer  oppose  making  the  proposed  peace  with  the 
white  men.  You  are  sensible  he  never  knew  what  fear  is  ;  that  he  nev 
er  turned  his  back  in  the  day  of  battle.  No  one  has  more  love  for  the 
white  men  than  I  have .  The  war  we  have  had  with  them  has  been  long 
•and  bloody  on  both  sides.  Rivers  of  blood  have  run  on  all  parts,  and  yet 
iio  good  has  resulted  therefrom  to  any.  I  once  more  repeat  it — let  us  be 
at  peace  with  these  men.  I  will  forget  our  injuries  ;  the  interest  of  my 
.country  demands  it.  I  will  forget — but  difficult,  indeed,  is  the  task ! 

Yes,  I  will  forget  that  Major cruelly  and  inhumanly  murdered,  in 

iheir  canoes,  my  wife,  my  children,  my  father,  my  mother,  and  all  my 
kindred.  This  roused  me  to  deeds  of  vengeance  !  I  was  cruel  in  despite 
of  myself.  I  will  die  content  if  my  country  is  once  more  at  peace  But 
when  Lonan  shall  l>e  no  more,  who,  alas  !  wiU  drop  a  tear  to  the  mera 
<iry  of  Lonan?'" 


56  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

as  a  confederacy,  had  not  taken  part  in  the  war  of 
the  Virginia  border ;  but  many  of  their  warriors  were 
engaged  in  it,  especially  the  Cayugas,  to  which  na 
tion  Logan  belonged,  and  the  warriors  of  the  Six 
Nations  colonized  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna, 
and  its  tributary,  the  Shamokin.  These,  it  may  be 
reasonably  inferred,  returned  from  the  contest  only 
to  brood  over  their  accumulated  wrongs,  and  in  a 
temper  not  over-inclined  to  cultivate  the  most  ami 
cable  relations  with  the  colonies.  In  one  word,  the 
temper  of  the  whole  Indian  race,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Oneidas,  was  soured  by  these  occurrences  of 
the  year  1774:  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance, 
since  events  were  then  following  in  rapid  succes 
sion,  which  within  a  twelvemonth  rendered  the 
friendship  of  the  nations  not  only  desirable,  but  an 
object  of  vast  importance. 

But  before  the  direct  narrative  leading  to  those 
events  is  resumed,  it  may  be  well  to  end  the  mel 
ancholy  tale  of  Logan,  "  which  can  be  dismissed  with 
no  relief  to  its  gloomy  colours."  After  the  peace  of 
Chilicothe,  he  sank  into  a  state  of  deep  mental  de 
pression,  declaring  that  life  was  a  torment  to  him. 
He  became  in  some  measure  delirious  ;  went  to  De 
troit,  and  there  yielded  himself  to  habits  of  intoxica 
tion.  In  the  end,  he  became  a  victim  to  the  same 
ferocious  cruelty  which  had  already  rendered  him  a 
desolate  man.  Not  long  after  the  treaty,  a  party  of 
whites  murdered  him  as  he  was  returning  from  De 
troit  to  his  own  country. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  parent  government  did  not  relax  its  coerciw 
measures,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  Ear]  oi 
Chatham,  now  venerable  for  his  years,  who,  after  a 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  57 

long  retirement,  returned  into  public  life,  to  interpose 
his  eloquence  and  the  influence  of  his  great  name  in 
behalf  of  the  colonies.  His  lordship's  address  to 
the  king  for  the  removal  of  the  troops  from  Boston 
was  rejected  by  a  large  majority.  His  conciliatory 
bill  was  also  rejected.  On  the  26th  of  January, 
Messrs.  Bolland,  Franklin,  and  Lee,  the  committee 
from  the  colonies  charged  with  presenting  the  pe 
tition  of  the  Continental  Congress  for  a  redress  of 
grievances,  brought  the  subject  before  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  after  an  angry  debate,  they  refused 
to  receive  it  by  a  decisive  vote.  Meantime,  bills 
were  passed,  by  large  majorities,  restraining  all  the 
thirteen  colonies,  excepting  only  New-York,  Dela 
ware,  and  North  Carolina,  from  the  prosecution  of 
any  foreign  commerce  other  than  with  Great  Britain 
and  her  dependances.  The  Eastern  States  were 
likewise  excluded  from  the  fisheries  of  Newfound 
land.  But  notwithstanding  that,  from  motives  of 
policy,  New- York  had  been  thus  excepted  from  the 
restraining  law,  its  local  legislature  was  at  the  same 
time  engaged  in  preparing  a  memorial  to  the  crown 
for  a  redress  of  grievances  :  a  fact  which  the  minis 
ters  soon  learned,  and  not  without  mortification. 
The  New-York  address  was  a  strong  denunciation 
of  the  measures  of  the  government  towards  the  colo 
nies,  and  an  energetic  appeal  for  redress.  The  ad 
dress  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  by 
Mr.  Burke,  but  was  never  called  up. 

A  new  Provincial  Congress  was  assembled  in  Mas 
sachusetts  in  February,  which,  anticipating  that  the 
parent  government  was  preparing  to  strike  the  first 
blow  at  that  colony,  adopted  farther  means  of  pre 
caution  and  defence,  but,  with  great  wisdom,  avoid 
ing  anything  like  an  overt  act  of  resistance.  Hos 
tilities  had  wellnigh  been  commenced,  on  the  26th 
of  February,  between  Salem  and  Danvers,  by  the 
opposition  of  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering  and  others 
to  Colonel  Leslie,  who  had  been  sent  to  Salem  by 


58  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

General  Gage  to  seize  some  military  stores  which 
he  had  been  informed  were  collecting  at  the  former 
place.  The  interposition  of  Mr.  Barnard,  the  min 
ister  of  Salem,  prevented  the  effusion  of  blood,  and 
Leslie  returned  to  Boston  from  a  bootless  errand. 

The  ill-starred  expedition,  by  the  direction  of  Gen 
eral  Gage,  to  Concord,  and  the  battle  of  Lexington 
on  the  19th  of  April,  gave  the  signal  of  a  general 
rush  to  arms  throughout  most  of  the  colonies.  True, 
it  was  not  admitted  to  be  a  formal  commencement 
of  hostilities,  and  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massa 
chusetts  despatched  an  account  of  that  affair  to  Great 
Britain,  with  depositions  establishing  the  fact,  indis 
putably,  that  both  at  Concord  and  Lexington  the  firing 
had  been  commenced  by  the  king's  troops,  Major 
Pitcairn  himself  discharging  the  first  shot  at  the 
former  place.  But  although  this  message  was  ac 
companied  by  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  with  continued  professions  of  loyalty,  those 
professions  were  sent,  hand  in  hand,  with  a  declara 
tion  that  they  would  "  not  tamely  submit  to  the  per 
secution  and  tyranny"  of  the  existing  ministry,  and 
with  an  appeal  to  Heaven  for  the  justice  of  a  cause 
in  which  they  were  determined  to  die  or  conquer. 
It  was  very  evident,  therefore,  that  reconciliation 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  that  a  trial  of  arms  was 
near  at  hand.  Of  course,  the  exasperation  of  the 
public  mind  was  now  at  its  height,  and  those  who 
had  not  taken  sides  could  no  longer  stand  neutral. 

It  was  at  this  moment,  just  as  the  Continental 
Congress  was  about  to  reassemble,  that,  most  un 
wisely  for  themselves,  the  influential  Loyalists  of 
Tryon  county  undertook  to  make  a  demonstration 
against  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress  of  the  pre 
ceding  autumn.  A  declaration  in  opposition  to  those 
proceedings  was  drawn  up,  and  advantage  taken 
of  the  gathering  of  the  people  at  a  court  holden  in 
Johnstown,  to  obtain  signatures.  The  discussions 
ran  high  upon  the  subject,  but  the  movers  in  the  affair 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  59 

succeeded  in  obtaining  the  names  of  a  majorit)  of 
the  grand-jurors,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  ma 
gistracy  of  the  county. 

The  Whigs  in  attendance  at  the  court  were  indig 
nant  at  this  procedure,  and,  on  returning  to  their 
respective  homes,  communicated  their  feelings  to 
those  of  their  neighbours  who  had  embraced  kindred 
principles.  Public  meetings  were  called,  and  com 
mittees  appointed  in  every  district,  and  sub-commit 
tees  in  almost  every  hamlet  in  the  county.*  The 
first  of  these  public  meetings  was  held  at  the  house 
of  John  Veeder,  in  Caughnawaga.  It  was  attended 
by  about  three  hundred  people,  who  assembled,  un 
armed,  for  the  purpose  of  deliberation,  and  also  to 
erect  a  liberty-pole — the  most  hateful  object  of  that 
day  in  the  eyes  of  the  Loyalists.  Among  the  leaders 
of  the  Whigs  on  that  occasion  were  SAMPSON  SAM- 
MONS,  an  opulent  farmer  residing  in  the  neighbour 
hood,  and  two  of  his  sons,  JACOB  and  FREDERIC. 
Before  they  had  accomplished  their  purpose  of  rais 
ing  the  emblem  of  rebellion,  the  proceedings  were  in 
terrupted  by  the  arrival  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  accom 
panied  by  his  brothers-in-law,  Colonels  Glaus  and 
Guy  Johnson,  Colonel  John  Butler,  and  a  large  num 
ber  of  their  retainers,  armed  with  swords  and  pistols. 
Guy  Johnson  mounted  a  high  stoop  and  harangued 
•.he  people  at  length,  and  with  great  vehemence. 
He  dwelt  upon  the  strength  and  power  of  the  king, 
md  attempted  to  show  the  folly  of  opposing  his  offi 
cers  or  revolting  against  the  authority  of  his  crown. 
i.  single  ship,  he  said,  would  be  sufficient  to  capture 
ill  the  navy  which  could  be  set  afloat  by  the  colo 
nies  ;  while  on  the  frontiers,  the  Indians  were  under 
his  majesty's  control,  and  his  arms  were  sustained 

*  The  county  of  Tryon  then  included  nil  the  colonial  settlements  west 
and  southwest  of  Schenectady.  It  was  taken  from  Albany  county  in 
1772,  and  named  in  honour  of  William  Tryon,  then  governor  of  the  prov 
ince.  In  1784  the  name  was  changed  to  Montgomery.  When  formed, 
it  embraced  all  that  part  of  the  state  lying  west  of  a  line  running  north 
and  south,  nearly  through  the  centre  of  the  present  county  of  Schoharie. 


60  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

by  a  chain  of  fortified  posts,  extending  from  the  Gulf 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi.  He  was 
"very  virulent  in  his  language  towards  the  disaffected, 
causing  their  blood  to  boil  with  indignation.  But 
they  were  unarmed,  and  for  the  most  part  unpre 
pared,  if  not  indisposed,  to  proceed  to  any  act  of 
violence.  The  orator  at  length  became  so  abusive, 
that  Jacob  Sammons,  no  longer  able  to  restrain  him 
self,  imprudently  interrupted  his  discourse  by  pro 
nouncing  him  a  liar  and  a  villain.  Johnson  there 
upon  seized  Sammons  by  the  throat,  and  called  him 
a  d — d  villain  in  return.  A  scuffle  ensued  between 
them,  during  which  SammOns  was  struck  down  with 
a  loaded  whip.  On  recovering  from  the  momentary 
stupor  of  the  blow,  Sammons  found  one  of  Johnson's 
servants  sitting  astride  of  his  body.  A  well-directed 
blow  relieved  him  of  that  encumbrance,  and,  spring 
ing  upon  his  feet,  he  threw  off  his  coat  and  prepared 
for  fight.  Two  pistols  were  immediately  presented 
to  his  breast,  but  not  discharged,  as  Sammons  was 
again  knocked  down  by  the  clubs  of  the  Loyalists, 
and  severely  beaten.  On  recovering  his  feet  once 
more,  he  perceived  that  his  Whig  friends  had  all  de 
camped,  with  the  exception  of  the  families  of  the 
Fondas,  Veeders,  and  Visschers.*  The  Loyalists 
also  drew  off,  and  Jacob  Sammons  returned  to  his 
father's  house,  bearing  upon  his  body  the  first  scars 
of  the  revolutionary  contest  in  the  county  of  Tryon. 

One  of  the  largest  and  most  spirited  of  these 
meetings  took  place  in  Cherry  Valley.  It  was  held 
in  the  church,  and  the  people  entered  into  the  sub 
ject  with  so  much  enthusiasm,  that  they  took  their 
children  to  the  assembly,  that  they  might  imbibe 
lessons  of  patriotism,  as  it  were,  at  the  altar — thus 
hallowing  the  cause  in  which  they  were  about  to 
engage  with  the  impressive  sanctions  of  religion. 
The  orator  of  the  occasion  was  an  Indian  interpret- 

*  Narratives  of  Jacob  and  Frederic  Sammons,  furnished  to  the  autho* 
repeated  references  to  both  of  which  will  be  made  hereafter. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  61 

er  named  Thomas  Spencer ;  he  was  rude  of  speech, 
but  forcible  ;  and,  warming  with  his  theme,  spoke 
with  such  power  and  effect,  that  the  story  of  his  el 
oquence  yet  lives  in  the  annals  of  tradition.  The 
result  of  this  meeting  was  the  adoption  of  a  strong 
counter-declaration,  condemning  the  proceedings  of 
the  Loyalists  at  Johnstown,  and  approving,  in  the 
most  unequivocal  and  solemn  terms,  of  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

These  proceedings  took  place  early  in  May.  But 
from  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Committee  of  Safety 
of  Albany,  by  the  Committee  of  the  Palatine  Dis 
trict,  on  the  18th  of  that  month,  it  appears  that  the 
Johnsons,  and  their  powe'rful  confederates  in  the 
Mohawk  District,  succeeded,  by  threats,  intimidation, 
and  an  array  of  military  strength,  in  preventing  the 
adoption  of  a  corresponding  declaration  by  the 
Whigs.  The  committee  farther  notified  their  friends 
in  Albany,  that  Sir  John  Johnson  was  fortifying  the 
Baronial  Hall,  by  planting  several  swivels  around 
it ;  and  he  had  paraded  parts  of  the  regiment  of  mi 
litia  which  he  commanded,  on  the  day  previous,  for 
the  purpose  of  intimidation,  as  it  was  conjectured, 
It  was  likewise  reported  that  the  Scotch  Highland 
ers,  settled  in  large  numbers  in  and  about  Johns 
town,  who  were  Roman  Catholics,  had  armed  them 
selves  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  ready 
to  aid  in  the  suppression  of  any  popular  outbreaks 
in  favour  of  the  growing  cause  of  liberty. 

Strong  suspicions  were  early  entertained  that  the 
Johnsons,  Butlers,  and  Colonel  Clans,  were  endeav 
ouring  to  alienate  the  good-will  of  the  Indians  fY;»m 
the  colonists,  and  prepare  them,  in  the  event  ;>f 
open  hostilities,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  them. 
Thayendanegea,  alias  Joseph  Brant,  as  heretofore 
mentioned,  was  now  the  secretary  of  Colonel  Guy 
Johnson,  the  superintendent,  and  his  activity  was 
ceaseless.  Notwithstanding  his  former  friendship 
for  Mr.  Kirkland,  the  faithful  missionary  to  the  One- 


62  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Idas,  Thayendanegea  was  apprehensive  that  his  in 
fluence  would  be  exerted  to  alienate  the  Indians 
from  the  interests  of  the  crown,  and  attach  them  to 
those  of  the  colonists.  The  wily  chief,  accordingly, 
attempted  to  obtain  the  removal  of  Mr.  Kirkland 
from  his  station ;  and  at  his  instigation  a  dissolute 
sachem  of  the  Oneidas  preferred  charges  against 
the  minister  to  Guy  Johnson,  the  superintendent. 
A  correspondence  took  place  between  Johnson  and 
Mr.  Kirkland  upon  the  subject,  in  which  the  latter 
sustained  himself  with  force  and  dignity.  The  One- 
ida  nation,  moreover,  rallied  to  his  support,  almost 
to  a  man ;  so  that  the  superintendent  was  obliged, 
for  the  time,  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  his  forcible 
removal. 

Justice,  however,  both  to  Brant  and  Guy  Johnson, 
requires  it  to  be  stated,  that  the  vigilant  eyes  of  the 
Bostonians  had  already  been  directed  to  the  impor 
tance  of  securing  an  interest  among  the  Indians  of 
the  Six  Nations,  in  anticipation  of  whatever  events 
were  to  happen.  To  this  end,  a  correspondence  was 
opened  through  Mr.  Kirkland,  even  with  the  Mo 
hawks,  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachu 
setts,  before  the  affair  of  Lexington  and  Concord. 

There  were  at  that  time  dwelling  at  Stockbridge, 
in  the  western  part  of  Massachusetts,  a  remnant  of 
the  Mohickanders,  or  "  River  Indians,"  as  they  were 
usually  called  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  lasi 
century,  but  latterly  Stockbridge  Indians,  from  theii 
locality.  These  Indians  were  the  remains  of  the 
Muhhekaneew*  of  the  Hudson  River,  at  the  time  o 

*  This  is  the  orthography  of  Dr.  Edwards,  who  was  long  a  missionarj 
among  them  at  Stockbridge.  Hecke welder  says  their  proper  name  wai 
Mahicanni.  It  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  things  in  the  world  to  arrivf 
at  anything  like  system  or  certainty  in  regard  to  Indian  names  of  per 
sons,  places,  or  things.  For  instance,  the  author  has  papers  before  hin 
at  the  time  of  writing,  in  which  the  River  Indians  are  called  Moheagans, 
Mourigans,  or  Mahingans  (French),  Mahickanders  (Dutch),  Mohiccont 
(English),  Mohuccans,  Mahickindcrs,  Schaticooks,  Wabingas,  Muhhcak 
unnuks,  and  the  Moheakounucks ;  indeed,  it  has  been  the  practice  of  wri 
ters  of  different,  and  of  evf-n  the  same  nations,  to  spell  more  by  the  eai 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  C3 

the  discovery.  They  came  originally,  according  to 
their  own  traditions,  from  the  far  West — -even  be 
yond  the  great  lakes.  That  such  was  their  original 
location  is  supported  by  the  fact,  that  their  language 
was  radically  different  from  that  of  the  Narragan- 
setts  and  New-England  Indians  generally,  and  also 
from  the  language  of  the  Five  Nations.  Its  affini 
ties  were  allied  to  the  Shawanese  and  Chippewa, 
affording  farther  evidence  that  they  had  emigrated 
from  the  West,  crossing  the  country  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  and  establishing  themselves  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  or  Mohickannittuck,  as  the  North  River 
was  called.  They  were  a  powerful  tribe  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery,  numbering  a  thousand  warriors, 
and  inhabiting  the  country  between  the  Upper  Del 
aware  and  the  Hudson,  together  with  portions  of 
territory  now  included  in  Massachusetts  and  Ver 
mont.  They  dwelt  mostly  in  little  towns  and  villa 
ges,  their  chief  seat  being  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Albany,  called  by  them  Pempotowwuthut- 
Muhhecanneuw,  or  the  Fireplace  of  the  Nation. 
Becoming  feeble  and  dispersed  as  the  white  popula 
tion  increased  around  and  among  them — although 
their  numbers  had  been  partially  recruited  by  refu 
gees  from  the  Narragansetts  and  Pequods,  on  tho 
conquest  of  those  nations — the  Muhhekaneew  were 
collected  together  at  Stockbridge,  in  1736,  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  John  Sergeant,  who,  and  his  son 
after  him,  were  long  the  spiritual  guides  of  the 
tribe.  They  were  ever  faithful  to  the  English,  hav 
ing  been  actively  employed  by  General  Shirley  to 
range  the  country  between  Lake  George  and  Mon7 
treal,  during  the  French  war  ending  in  the  conquest 
of  Canada. 

The  relations  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians  with  the 
Oneidas  had  become  intimate,  and  it  is  very  possi 
ble  that  the  negotiations  had  even  then  commenced 

than  by  rule,  until  our  Indian  names  have  been  involved  in  almost  iner 
tricahlo  confusion. 


64  BORDER  WARS   OF   THE 

between  the  two  tribes,  which  a  few  years  after 
ward  resulted  in  the  removal  of  the  Stockbridge  In 
dians  to  the  Oneida.  Be  that,  however,  as  it  may, 
when  the  troubles  began  to  thicken,  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  Massachusetts  sent  a  message  to  the 
Stockbridge  Indians,  apprizing  them  of  the  gather 
ing  tempest,  and  expressing  a  desire  to  cultivate  a 
good  understanding  between  them.  The  Indians, 
in  return,  despatched  Captain  Solomon  Ahhaunnau- 
waumut,  their  chief  sachem,  to  the  Congress,  to 
make  a  reply,  and  on  the  llth  of  April  he  delivered 
the  following  speech : 

"  BROTHERS— We  have  heard  you  speak  by  your 
letter — we  thank  you  for  it :  we  now  make  answer. 

"  BROTHERS— You  remember,  when  you  first  came 
over  the  great  waters,  I  was  great,  and  you  was  lit 
tle,  very  small.  I  then  took  you  in  for  a  friend,  and 
kept  you  under  my  arms,  so  that  no  one  might  in 
jure  you ;  since  that  time  we  have  ever  been  true 
friends  ;  there  has  never  been  any  quarrel  between 
us.  But  now  our  conditions  are  changed.  You  are 
become  great  and  tall.  You  reach  to  the  clouds. 
You  are  seen  all  around  the  world,  and  I  am  be 
come  small,  very  little.  I  am  not  so  high  as  your 
heel.  Now  you  take  care  of  me,  and  I  look  to  yoi 
for  protection. 

"  BROTHERS— I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  this  great  quar 
rel  between  you  and  Old  England.  It  appears  that 
blood  must  soon  be  shed  to  end  this  quarrel.  We 
never  till  this  day  understood  the  foundation  of  this 
quarrel  between  you  and  the  country  you  came 

BROTHERS— Whenever  I  see  your  blood  running, 
von  will  soon  find  me  about  to  revenge  my  brother  s 
blood  Although  I  am  low  and  very  small,  I  will 
eripe  hold  of  your  enemy's  heel,  that  he  cannot  run 
so  fast,  and  so  light,  as  if  he  had  nothing  at  his 

6«  BROTHERS— You  know  I  am  not  so  wise  as  you 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  65 

are ;  therefore  I  ask  your  advice  in  what  I  am  now 
going  to  say.  I  have  been  thinking,  before  you 
come  to  action,  to  take  a  run  to  the  westward,  and 
feel  the  mind  of  my  Indian  brethren,  the  Six  Na 
tions,  and  know  how  they  stand — whether  they  are 
on  your  side,  or  for  your  enemies.  If  I  find  they  are 
against  you,  I  will  try  to  turn  their  minds.  I  think 
they  will  listen  to  me,  for  they  have  always  looked 
this  way  for  advice  concerning  all  important  news 
that  comes  from  the  rising  of  the  sun.  If  they 
hearken  to  me,  you  will  not  be  afraid  of  any  danger 
behind  you.  However  their  minds  are  affected,  you 
shall  soon  know  by  me.  Now  I  think  I  can  do  you 
more  service  in  this  way  than  by  marching  off  Im 
mediately  to  Boston,  and  staying  there  ;  it  may  be  a 
great  while  before  blood  runs.*  Now,  as  I  said, 
you  are  wiser  than  I ;  I  leave  this  for  your  consid 
eration,  whether  I  come  down  immediately,  or  wait 
till  I  hear  some  blood  is  spilled. 

"  BROTHERS — I  would  not  have  you  think,  by  this, 
that  we  are  falling  back  from  our  engagements. 
We  are  ready  to  do  anything  for  your  relief,  and 
shall  be  guided  by  your  counsel. 

"  BROTHERS — One  thing  I  ask  of  you  :  if  you  send 
for  me  to  fight,  that  you  will  let  me  fight  in  my  own 
Indian  way.  I  am  not  used  to  fight  English  fash 
ion,  therefore  you  must  not  expect  I  can  train  like 
your  men.  Only  point  out  to  me  where  your  ene 
mies  keep,  and  that  is  all  I  shall  want  to  know." 

These  facts  are  introduced,  not  only  as  being  con 
nected  with  the  main  history,  and  interesting  in 
themselves,  but  in  justice  to  Guy  Johnson  ;  since, 
in  regard  to  his  own  measures  of  defensive  prepar 
ation,  he  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  all  the  facts, 
going  to  warrant  his  suspicions  that  an  extraneous 

*  A  company  of  minute-men,  composed  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians, 
was  organized  by  the  Massachusetts  Congress  before  the  battle  of  Lex 
ington.  They  were  retained  in  service  some  time  after  the  war  began, 
and  came  down  and  joined  the  camp  at  Cambridge. — Spark*. 

VOT,.  L— F 


66  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

influence  was  exerting  over  the  subjects  of  his  gen 
eral  superintendence  ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  suppo 
sed  that  he  was  kept  altogether  in  ignorance,  either 
of  the  correspondence  with  Mr.  Kirkland  or  of  that 
with  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  through  whom,  prob 
ably,  the  Bostonians  were  at  the  same  time  holding 
intercourse  with  the  Six  Nations.  These  circum 
stances  could  not  but  awaken  a  lively  jealousy  in 
regard  to  the  movements  of  the  white  people  among 
the  Indians  under  his  charge,  and  especially  in  re 
gard  to  Mr.  Kirkland.  Accordingly,  although  in  the 
month  of  February  the  superintendent  had  not  been 
able  to  effect  the  removal  of  Mr.  Kirkland  from  his 
station  among  the  Oneidas,  he  accomplished  that 
object  in  the  course  of  the  spring,  as  appears  by  a 
letter  from  the  missionary  himself,  addressed  from 
Cherry  Valley  to  the  Albany  Committee. 

The  influence  of  Mr.  Kirkland  was  great  among 
the  Oneidas,  and  deservedly  so.  Hence,  had  he  un 
dertaken  the  task,  he  might,  beyond  all  doubt,  and 
easily,  have  persuaded  the  Indians  of  his  forest- 
charge  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  colonies.  But 
he  did  no  such  thing ;  or,  at  least,  he  avoided  the 
exertion  of  any  farther  influence  than  to  persuade 
them  to  the  adoption  of  a  neutral  policy.  This  de 
termination,  probably,  was  an  act  of  their  own  voli 
tion,  after  listening  to  the  interpretation  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  Congress.  It  was  made  known  to  the 
people  of  New-England  by  the  following  address, 
transmitted  by  the  Oneidas  to  Governor  Trumbull, 
of  Connecticut,  with  a  request  that  he  would  cause 
it  to  be  communicated  to  the  four  New-England 
colonies  : 

THE  ONEIDA  INDIANS  TO  GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL. 

"As  my  younger  brothers  of  the  New-England 
Indians,  who  have  settled  in  our  vicinity,  are  now 
going  down  to  visit  their  friends,  and  to  move  up 
parts  of  their  families  that  were  left  behind— with 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  67 

this  belt  by  them,  I  open  the  road  wide,  clearing  it 
of  all  obstacles,  that  they  may  visit  their  friends 
and  return  to  their  settlements  here  in  peace. 

"  Now  we  more  immediately  address  you,  our 
brother,  the  governor,  and  the  chiefs  of  New-Eng 
land. 

"  BROTHERS — We  have  heard  of  the  unhappy  dif 
ferences  and  great  contention  between  you  and  Old 
England.  We  wonder  greatly,  and  are  troubled  in 
our  minds. 

"  BROTHERS — Possess  your  minds  in  peace  re 
specting  us  Indians.  We  cannot  intermeddle  in 
this  dispute  between  two  brothers.  The  quarrel 
seems  to  be  unnatural.  You  are  two  brothers  of  one 
blood.  We  are  unwilling  to  join  on  either  side  in 
such  a  contest,  for  we  bear  an  equal  affection  to 
both  you  Old  and  New  England.  Should  the  great 
King  of  England  apply  to  us  for  aid,  we  shall  deny 
him  ;  if  the  colonies  apply,  we  shall  refuse.  The 
present  situation  of  you  two  brothers  is  new  and 
strange  to  us.  We  Indians  cannot  find,  nor  recol 
lect  in  the  traditions  of  our  ancestors,  the  like  case, 
or  a  similar  instance. 

"  BROTHERS — For  these  reasons  possess  your 
minds  in  peace,  and  take  no  umbrage  that  we  In 
dians  refuse  joining  in  the  contest.  We  are  for 
peace. 

"  BROTHERS — As  we  have  declared  for  peace,  we 
desire  you  will  not  apply  to.  our  Indian  brethren  in 
New-England  for  their  assistance.  Let  us  Indians 
be  all  of  one  mind,  and  live  with  one  another ;  and 
you  white  people  settle  your  own  disputes  between 
yourselves." 

Of  an  Indian  foe  the  inhabitants  of  Tryon  county 
entertained  a  special  dread.  In  the  communication 
of  the  Palatine  Committee  to  that  of  Albany,  there 
fore,  cited  a  few  pages  back,  it  was  suggested 
whether  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  prevent  the 


68  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sending  of  powder  and  ammunition  into  the  Mo 
hawk  Valley,  unless  consigned  to  the  committee,  to 
be  sold  under  their  inspection.  In  conclusion,  the 
committee  declared  that,  although  few  in  number, 
they  were  determined  to  let  the  world  see  who 
were,  and  who  were  not,  attached  to  the  cause  of 
American  liberty  ;  and  they  closed  by  avowing  their 
fixed  determination  "  to  carry  into  execution  every 
thing  recommended  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  to  be  free  or  die." 

Three  days  after  making  this  communication  to 
their  Albany  brethren,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  21st  of 
May,  the  question  whether  Guy  Johnson  was  or 
was  not  tampering  with  the  Indians  in  anticipation 
of  hostilities,  was  solved  by  an  intercepted  commu 
nication  from  Thayendanegea  to  the  chiefs  of  the 
Oneida  tribe.  The  letter,  written  in  the  Mohawk 
language,  was  found  in  an  Indian  path,  and  was  sup 
posed  to  have  been  lost  by  one  of  their  runners. 
The  following  is  a  translation,  being  the  earliest 
specimen  extant  of  the  composition  of  Brant : 

"Written  at  Guy  Johnson's,  May,  1775. 

"  This  is  your  letter,  you  great  ones  or  sachems. 
Guy  Johnson  says  he  will  be  glad  if  you  get  this  in 
telligence,  you  Oneidas,  how  it  goes  with  him  now  ; 
and  he  is  now  more  certain  concerning  the  inten 
tion  of  the  Boston  people.  Guy  Johnson  is  in  great 
fear  of  being  taken  prisoner  by  the  Bostonians. 
We  Mohawks  are  obliged  to  watch  him  constantly. 
Therefore  we  send  you  this  intelligence,  that  you 
shall  know  it;  and  Guy  Johnson  assures  himself, 
and  depends  upon  your  coming  to  his  assistance, 
and  that  you  will,  without  fail,  be  of  that  opinion. 
He  believes  not  that  you  will  assent  to  let  him  suf 
fer.  We  therefore  expect  you  in  a  couple  of  days' 
time.  So  much  at  present.  We  send  but  so  far  as 
to  you  Oneidas,  but  afterward,  perhaps,  to  all  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  69 

other  nations.  We  conclude,  and  expect  that  you 
will  have  concern  about  our  ruler,  Guy  Johnson, 
because  we  are  all  united. 

**  (Signed)  "  AREN  KANNENZARON, 

"  JOHANNES  TEGARIHOGE, 
"  DEYAGODEAGHNAWEAGH. 
"JOSEPH  BRANT, 

"  Guy  Johnson's  Interpreter." 

The  surface  of  this  intercepted  despatch  discloses 
nothing-  more  than  a  desire  on  the  part  of  Guy  John 
son  to  strengthen  his  domestic  forces  for  the  pro 
tection  of  his  person,  in  the  event  of  any  attempt  to 
seize  and  carry  him  away.  But  the  inhabitants  al 
lowed  him  no  credit  for  sincerity.  Information  had 
been  received  from  Canada,  through  the  emissaries 
sent  thither  by  the  revolutionary  leaders  in  Massa 
chusetts,  that  secret  agents  of  the  crown  had  been 
sent  among  the  Six  Nations  to  stir  them  up  against 
the  colonies.  Hence  the  correspondence  of  the 
Massachusetts  Congress  with  Mr.  Kirkland  and  the 
Indians ;  and  hence,  also,  the  increasing  apprehen 
sion  of  the  people  that  the  Indians  were  to  be  in 
flamed  and  let  loose  upon  them.  Such,  consequent 
ly,  was  their  distrust  of  Johnson,  that  they  neither 
believed  there  was  any  design  against  his  person, 
nor  that  he  was  labouring  under  any  apprehension 
of  the  kind.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  however, 
that  Guy  Johnson  did  feel  his  position  to  be  critical. 
General  Schuyler  had  his  eye  upon  him ;  and,  be 
yond  question,  his  every  motion  was  so  closely 
watched  as  to  make  him  feel  very  uncomfortable.* 

In  addition  to  the  before-mentioned  intercepted 
letter,  it  was  ascertained  that  already  expresses  had 
actually  been  sent  to  the  upper  tribes  of  the  Six  Na- 

*  "  Watch  the  movements  of  the  Indian  agent,  Colonel  Guy  Johnson, 
s.nd  prevent,  so  far  as  vou  can,  the  effect  of  his  influence,  to  our  preju 
dice,  with  the  Indians."— Letter  from  Washington  to  General  Schuyler, 
June,  1775. 


70 


BORDER  WARS   OF  THE 


tions,  to  invite  them  down  to  Guy  Johnson's  house. 
His  own  domestic  army  amounted  to  five  hundred 
men,  and  he  had  now  cut  off  all  free  communication 
between  the  upper  Mohawk  settlements  and  Albany. 
And  although  the  districts  of  Palatine,  Canajoharie, 
and  the  German  Flatts  were  sanctioning  the  pro 
ceedings  of  .he  Continental  Congress  with  much 
unanimity,  they  were  in  a  great  measure  unarmed 
and  destitute  of  ammunition,  not  having  more  than 
fifty  pounds  of  powder  in  the  districts.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  committee  wrote  an  urgent  let 
ter  to  Albany,  representing  their  situation,  and  sug 
gesting  whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  to  open 
the  communication  through  the  lower  districts  of  the 
valley  by  force.  They  also  advised  the  sending  of 
two  trusty  messengers,  well  acquainted  with  the  In 
dian  language,  to  the  upper  nations,  to  dissuade 
them,  if  possible,  from  obeying  the  summons  of  Guy 
Johnson,  and  to  enlighten  them  in  respect  of  the  true 
nature  and  causes  of  the  quarrel  with  the  king's 
government. 

This  letter  was  despatched  by  express,  and  the 
Albany  Committee  replied  on  the  following  day, 
advising  their  friends  of  the  upper  districts  that  they 
had  no  ammunition  to  spare,  and  dissuading  them 
from  any  attempt  to  reopen  the  communication  by 
force.  That  project  was,  accordingly,  abandoned  ; 
but  the  committee  sent  four  of  its  members  to  Al 
bany,  to  gain  information  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  country  generally,  and  with  instructions  to  pro 
cure  a  quantity  of  powder  and  lead,  the  committee 
holding  itself  responsible  for  the  purchase  money. 
Meantime,  they  pushed  their  measures  of  internal 
organization  with  great  energy  and  success,  estab 
lishing  sub-committees  wherever  it  was  expedient, 
and  assuming  the  exercise  of  legislative,  judicial, 
and  executive  powers.  Secret  articles  for  mutual 
succour  and  defence  were  prepared,  and  very  gener 
ally  signed  by  the  Whigs ;  and  threats  having  been 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  71 

attered  by  Guy  Johnson,  that  unless  the  committees 
desisted  from  the  course  they  were  pursuing,  he 
would  seize  and  imprison  certain  of  their  number, 
they  solemnly  bound  themselves  to  rescue  any  who 
might  thus  be  arrested  by  force,  "  unless  such  per 
sons  should  be  confined  by  legal  process,  issued  upon 
a  legal  ground,  and  executed  in  a  legal  manner." 

It  is  here  worthy,  not  only  of  special  note,  but  of 
all  admiration,  how  completely  and  entirely  these 
border-men  held  themselves  amenable,  in  the  most 
trying  exigencies,  to  the  just  execution  of  the  laws. 
Throughout  all  their  proceedings,  the  history  of  the 
Tryon  Committees  will  show  that  they  were  gov 
erned  by  the  purest  dictates  of  patriotism,  and  the 
highest  regard  to  moral  principle.  Unlike  the  rude 
inhabitants  of  most  frontier  settlements,  especially 
under  circumstances  when  the  magistracy  are,  from 
necessity,  almost  powerless,  the  frontier  patriots  of 
Tryon  county  were  scrupulous  in  their  devotion  to 
the  supremacy  of  the  laws.  Their  leading  men  were 
likewise  distinguished  for  their  intelligence ;  and 
while  North  Carolina  is  disputing  whether  she  did 
not,  in  fact,  utter  a  declaration  of  independence  be 
fore  it  was  done  by  Congress,  the  example  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  proceeded  from  the  Valley 
of  the  Mohawk. 

On  the  whole,  there  is  no  good  reason  to  doubt 
that  Guy  Johnson  was,  in  reality,  apprehensive  of  a 
clandestine  visit  from  the  Yankees,  and  possibly  of 
an  abduction.  The  great  influence  of  his  official 
station,  and  his  equivocal  conduct,  had  created  uni 
versal  distrust ;  and  the  affair  of  the  "  Tea  Party" 
had  taught  the  Loyalists  that  the  Bostonians  were  as 
adroit  and  fearless  in  stratagem  as  in  deeds  of  open 
daring  and  bold  emprise.  It  was  well  understood 
that  he  had  arrested  and  searched  the  persons  of 
two  New-Englanders,  suspicious,  as  it  was  inferred, 
and  probably  not  without  reason,  that  they  had  been 
despatched  on  a  mission  to  the  Indians,  with  whom 


72  BORDER  WARS   OF  THE 

it  was  policy  to  prevent  any  communication,  save 
through  his  own  interposition.  Nor  could  he  be 
ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  at  that  critical  conjuncture, 
the  possession  of  his  person  might  be  of  as  much 
consequence  to  those  who  were  on  the  verge  of  re 
bellion  as  of  detriment  to  the  service  in  which  his 
predilections  would  probably  induce  him  to  engage. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  COUNCIL  of  the  Mohawk  chiefs  was  held  at  Guy 
Park*  on  the  25th  of  May,  which  was  attended  by 
delegates  from  Albany  and  Tryon  counties.  The 
records  of  this  council  are  very  scanty  and  unsatis 
factory.  The  principal  chief  of  the  Mohawk  tribe 
at  that  time  was  Little  Abraham^  a  brother  of  the 
famous  Hendrick  who  fell  at  Lake  George,  in  the 
year  1775. 

This  council  having  been  but  thinly  attended,  and 
only  by  one  tribe  of  the  Indians,  the  superintendent 
immediately  directed  the  assembling  of  another  in 
the  western  part  of  the  county,  to  attend  which  he 
proceeded  to  the  German  Flatts  with  his  whole 
family  and  retinue.  His  quarters  were  at  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Thompson,  on  Cosby's  Manor,  a  few  miles 
above  the  Flatts.  It  has  been  alleged  that  this  sec 
ond  council  was  convoked  because  of  the  superin 
tendent's  dissatisfaction  with  the  first — a  conclusion 
not  unlikely,  from  the  absence  of  the  western  In 
dians,  who  had  been  invited. 

On  the  2d  of  June  there  was,  for  the  first  time,  a 

*  Guy  Park,  a  beautiful  situation  immediately  on  the  bank  of  the  Mo 
hawk.  The  elegant  stone  mansion  is  yet  upon  the  premises,  giving  the 
best  evidences  of  substantial  building. 

t  Little  Abraham  seems  rather  to  have  been  a  leading  chief  at  th« 
Lower  Castle  of  the  Mohawks— not  the  principal  war-chief. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  73 

lull  meeting  of  the  Tryon  County  Committee,  the 
Loyalists  having  previously  prevented  the  attendance 
of  delegates  from  the  lower,  or  Mohawk  District.* 
This  committee  addressed  a  strong  and  patriotic  let 
ter  to  the  superintendent,  formally  notifying  him  of 
the  purposes  of  their  organization.  The  following 
is  an  extract  from  this  letter : 

"  We  are  not  ignorant  of  the  very  great  impor 
tance  of  your  office  as  superintendent  of  the  Indians, 
and  therefore  it  is  no  more  our  duty  than  inclina 
tion  to  protect  you  in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  of 
your  proper  province  ;  and  we  meet  you  with  pleas 
ure,  in  behalf  of  ourselves  and  our  constituents,  to 
thank  you  for  meeting  the  Indians  in  the  upper 
parts  of  the  county,  which  may  be  the  means  of 
easing  the  people  of  the  remainder  of  their  fears  on 
this  account,  and  prevent  the  Indians  committing  ir 
regularities  on  their  way  down  to  Guy  Park.  And 
we  beg  of  you  to  use  your  endeavours  with  the  In 
dians  to  dissuade  them  from  interfering  in  the  dis 
pute  with  the  mother-country  and  the  colonies. 
We  cannot  think  that,  as  you  and  your  family  pos 
sess  very  large  estates  in  this  county,  you  are  unfa 
vourable  to  American  freedom,  although  you  may 
differ  with  us  in  the  mode  of  obtaining  a  redress  of 
grievances.  Permit  us  farther  to  observe,  that  we 
cannot  pass  over  in  silence  the  interruption  which 

*  It  may  be  interesting  to  some  to  give  the  names  of  this  body  of  men, 
who  had  so  often  professed  their  willingness  to  peril  their  lives  and 
property  hi  defence  of  the  liberties  of  their  country.  (From  Palatine  Dis 
trict) — Christopher  P.  Yates,  John  Frey,  Andrew  Fink,  Andrew  Reeber, 
Peter  Waggoner,  Daniel  M'Dougal,  Jacob  Klock,  George  Ecker,  Jun., 
Harmanus  Van  Slyck,  Christopher  VV.  Fox,  Anthony  Van  Veghten. 
(Canajoharie  District) — Nicholas  Heikimer,  Ebenezer  Cox,  William  See- 
ber,  John  Moore,  Samuel  Campbell,  Samuel  Clyde,  Thomas  Henry,  John 
Pickard.  (Kingsland  and  German  Flatts  Districts) — Edward  Wall,  Will 
iam  Petry,  John  Petry,  Augustine  Hess,  Frederic  Orendorf,  George 
Wentz,  Michael  Ittig,  Frederic  Fox,  George  Ilerkimer,  Duncan  M'Dou 
gal,  Frederic  Helmer,  John  Frink.  (Mohawk  District)— John  Morlett, 
John  Bliven,  Abraham  Van  Home,  Adam  Fonda,  Frederic  Fisher, 
Sampson  Sarnmons,  William  Schuyler,  Volkert  Veeder,  James  M'Master, 
Daniel  Line— 42.  Christopher  P.  Yates  was  chosen  chairman  of  thii 
body  — Campbell's  Annals. 


74  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  people  of  the  Mohawk  District  met  in  their  meet- 
ing,  which,  we  are  informed,  was  conducted  in  a 
peaceable  manner ;  and  the  inhuman  treatment  of 
a  man  whose  only  crime  was  being  faithful  to  his 
employers,  and  refusing  to  give  an  account  of  the 
receipt  of  certain  papers,  to  persons  who  had  not 
the  least  colour  of  right  to  demand  anything  of  that 
kind.  We  assure  you  that  we  are  much  concerned 
about  it,  as  two  important  rights  of  English  subjects 
are  thereby  infringed — to  wit,  a  right  to  meet,  and 
to  obtain  all  the  intelligence  in  their  power." 

Colonel  Nicholas  Herkimer  and  Edward  Wall 
were  deputed  to  deliver  the  letter  to  the  superintend 
ent,  for  which  purpose  they  proceeded  to  Cosby's 
Manor,  and  discharged  their  trust.  The  following 
was  Colonel  Johnson's  reply  —  manly  and  direct; 
and  with  which,  if  sincere,  certainly  no  fault  could 
be  found,  bating  the  lack  of  courtesy  in  its  com 
mencement  : 

"  Thompson's,  Cosby's  Manor,  June  5th,  1775. 

"  GENTLEMEN, 

•'  I  have  received  the  paper  signed  Chris.  P.  Yates. 
chairman,  on  behalf  of  the  districts  therein  men 
tioned,  which  I  am  now  to  answer,  and  shall  do  it 
briefly,  in  the  order  you  have  stated  matters.  As  to 
the  letter  from  some  Indians  to  the  Oneidas,  I  real 
ly  knew  nothing  of  it  till  I  heard  such  a  thing  had 
been  by  some  means  obtained  from  an  Indian  mes 
senger  ;  and  from  what  I  have  heard  of  its  contents, 
I  can't  see  anything  material  in  it,  or  that  could  jus 
tify  such  idle  apprehensions ;  but  I  must  observe, 
that  these  fears  among  the  people  were  talked  of 
long  before,  and  were,  I  fear,  propagated  by  some 
malicious  persons  for  a  bad  purpose. 

"  As  to  your  political  sentiments,  on  which  you 
enter  in  the  next  paragraph,  I  have  no  occasion  to 
enter  on  them  or  the  merits  of  the  cause.  I  desire 
to  enjoy  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  exercise  of 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  75 

my  own  judgment,  and  that  all  others  should  have 
the  same  privilege  ;  but,  with  regard  to  your  saying 
you  might  have  postponed  the  affair,  if  there  had 
been  the  least  kind  of  probability  that  the  petitior 
of  the  General  Assembly  would  have  been  noticed 
more  than  that  of  the  delegates,  I  must,  as  a  true 
friend  to  the  country,  in  which  I  have  a  large  inter 
est,  say,  that  the  present  dispute  is  viewed  in  differ 
ent  lights,  according  to  the  education  and  principles 
of  the  parties  affected  ;  and  that,  however  reasona 
ble  it  may  appear  to  a  considerable  number  of  hon 
est  men  here,  that  the  petition  of  the  delegates 
should  merit  attention,  it  is  not  viewed  in  the  same 
light  in  a  country  which  admits  of  no  authority  that 
is  not  constitutionally  established ;  and  I  persuade 
myself  you  have  that  reverence  for  his  majesty, 
that  you  will  pay  due  regard  to  the  royal  assu 
rance  given  in  his  speech  to  Parliament,  that  when 
ever  the  American  grievances  should  be  laid  before 
him  by  their  constitutional  assemblies,  they  should 
be  fully  attended  to.  I  have  heard  that  compulsory 
steps  were  taken  to  induce  some  persons  to  come 
into  your  measures,  and  treasonable  toasts  drank ; 
but  I  am  not  willing  to  give  too  easy  credit  to  flying 
reports,  and  am  happy  to  hear  you  disavow  them. 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  my  calling  a  Congress  on  the 
frontiers  gives  satisfaction ;  this  was  principally  my 
design,  though  I  cannot  sufficiently  express  my  sur 
prise  at  those  who  have,  either  through  malice  or 
ignorance,  misconstrued  my  intentions,  and  suppo 
sed  me  capable  of  setting  the  Indians  on  the  peace 
able  inhabitants  of  this  county.  The  interest  our 
family  has  in  this  county,  and  my  own,  is  consider 
able,  and  they  have  been  its  best  benefactors ;  any 
malicious  charges,  therefore,  to  their  prejudice,  are 
highly  injurious,  and  ought  to  be  totally  suppressed. 

"  The  office  I  hold  is  "greatly  for  the  benefit  and 
protection  of  this  county,  and  on  my  frequent  meet 
ings  with  the  Indians  depends  their  peace  and  secu- 


76  BORDER     WARS    OF    THE 

rity ;  I  therefore  cannot  but  be  astonished  to  find 
the  endeavours  made  use  of  to  obstruct  me  in  my 
duties,  and  the  weakness  of  some  people  in  with 
holding  many  things  from  me,  which  are  indisputa 
bly  necessary  for  rendering  the  Indians  contented  ; 
and  I  am  willing  to  hope  that  you,  gentlemen,  will 
duly  consider  this,  and  discountenance  the  same. 

"  You  have  been  much  misinformed  as  to  the  or 
igin  of  the  reports  which  obliged  me  to  fortify  my 
house  and  stand  on  my  defence.  I  had  it,  gentle 
men,  from  undoubted  authority  from  Albany,  and 
since  confirmed  by  letters  from  one  of  the  commit 
tee  at  Philadelphia,  that  a  large  body  of  men  were 
to  make  me  prisoner.  As  the  effect  this  must  have 
on  the  Indians  might  have  been  of  dangerous  con 
sequences  to  you  (a  circumstance  not  thought  of), 
I  was  obliged,  at  great  expense,  to  take  these  meas 
ures.  But  the  many  reports  of  my  stopping  travel 
lers  were  false  in  every  particular,  and  the  only  in 
stance  of  detaining  anybody  was  in  the  case  of  two 
New-England  men,  which  I  explained  fully  to  those 
of  your  body  who  brought  your  letter,  and  wherein 
I  acted  strictly  agreeable  to  law,  and  as  a  magis 
trate  should  have  done. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  that  such  idle  and  injurious  re 
ports  meet  with  any  encouragement.  I  rely  on  you, 
gentlemen,  to  exert  yourselves  in  discountenancing 
them  ;  and  I  am  happy  in  this  opportunity  of  assu 
ring  the  people  of  a  county  I  regard,  that  they  have- 
no  thing  to  apprehend  from  my  endeavours,  but  that 
I  shall  always  be  glad  to  promote  their  true  in 
terests. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  humble  servant, 

"  G.  JOHNSON." 

Guy  Johnson  did  not  remain  long  at  Cosby's 
Manor,  nor  did  he  hold  the  Indian  council  there 
which  had  been  notified,  but  departed  immediately 
farther  west.  His  removal  from  Thompson's  was 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  77 

thus  announced  to  the  Committee  of  Palatine  by  Mr. 
Wall,  on  the  8th  of  June  :  "  Our  people  are  greatly 
alarmed  at  Colonel  Johnson's  motions,  and  cannot 
understand  his  reasons  for  the  same.  We  dare  say 
that  before  now  you  have  been  [made]  acquainted 
that  he  has  removed  with  his  retinue  from  Mr. 
Thompson's  to  Fort  Stanwix,  and  there  are  rumours 
that  he  intends  to  move  yet  farther.  We  leave  you 
to  conjecture  what  may  be  his  reasons." 

These  apprehensions  were  certainly  not  unreason 
able.  For  although  Colonel  Johnson's  letters  were 
plausible,  and  apparently  frank  and  sincere,  when 
the  people  saw  him  setting  his  face  thus  to  the  west, 
and  moving  up  through  the  valley,  not  only  with 
his  own  family,  but  accompanied  by  a  large  retinue 
of  his  dependants  and  the  great  body  of  the  Mohawk 
Indians — who  left  their  own  delightful  country  at 
this  time,  never  more  peaceably  to  return — it  is  not 
strange  that  suspicions  as  to  his  ulterior  designs 
were  excited. 

The  affair  of  Lexington  had,  of  course,  been  the 
signal  for  war  throughout  the  colonies.  The  forts, 
magazines,  and  arsenals  were  everywhere  seized. 
Troops  were  raised,  and  money  for  their  support ; 
and  it  was  not  many  weeks  before  an  army  of  thir 
ty  thousand  men  appeared  in  the  environs  of  Bos 
ton,  under  the  command  of  General  Putnam — a  vet 
eran  of  the  old  French  war,  in  whom  the  people  had 
great  confidence.  Early  in  May,  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen,  a  hardy  leader  of  the  settlers  upon  the  New- 
Hampshire  grants  (now  Vermont),  concerted  an  ex 
pedition  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
About  forty  volunteers  from  Connecticut  were  of 
the  expedition,  which,  with  the  forces  collected  for 
the  object  at  Castleton,  made  up  the  number  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty.  Allen  wras  unexpectedly  join 
ed  by  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold,  who  had  planned 
the  same  enterprise.  They  readily  agreed  to  act  in 
concert;  and  so  admirably  was  the  project  carried 


78  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

into  execution,  that  the  Americans  actually  entered 
the  fortress  by  the  covered  way  just  at  daylight, 
formed  upon  the  parade  ground  within,  and  awoke 
the  sleeping  garrison  by  their  huzzas.  A  slight 
skirmish  ensued,  and  the  commander,  De  la  Place 
surrendered  to  the  novel  summons  of  Allen,  "  I  de 
mand  a  surrender  in  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah 
and  the  Continental  Congress."  Colonel  Seth  War 
ner  was  sent  thence  to  Crown  Point,  which  was 
easily  taken,  the  garrison  consisting  of  only  a  doz 
en  men,  commanded  by  a  sergeant.  Arnold  pro 
ceeded  northward  to  St.  Johns,  and  succeeded  in 
capturing  a  sloop-of-war  by  surprise ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  the  pass  of  Skenesborough,  at  the  south 
end  of  Champlain,  was  taken  possession  of,  Colonel 
Skene  and  a  small  number  of  troops  being  made 
prisoners,  and  several  pieces  of  cannon  taken. 
Thus,  by  a  sudden  blow,  and  without  the  loss  of  a 
man,  was  the  command  of  Lakes  George  and  Cham- 
plain  obtained. 

The  next  act  in  the  grand  drama  then  unfolding 
was  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Towards  the  close 
of  May  re-enforcements  of  troops  from  England  had 
arrived  at  Boston,  with  Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne, 
and  Clinton,  all  of  whom  were  officers  of  reputa 
tion.  The  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts 
had,  early  in  that  month,  renounced  General  Gage 
as  governor  of  the  colony,  declared  him  an  enemy 
of  the  country,  and  forbidden  obedience  to  his  or 
ders.  On  the  other  hand,  General  Gage  had  issued 
his  proclamation,  promising  a  gracious  pardon  to  all 
who  would  lay  down  their  arms  and  return  to  the 
duties  of  peaceable  subjects,  excepting  only  Sam 
uel  Adams  and  John  Hancock,  whose  offences  were 
declared  to  be  of  "  too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit 
of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of  condign  pun 
ishment."  By  the  same  instrument  Massachusetts 
was  declared  to  be  under  martial  law.  General 
Gage  was  also  preparing,  in  other  respects,  for  more 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  79 

energetic  action ;  but  every  measure  he  took,  and 
every  moment  that  passed,  served  only  to  unite  and 
imbolden  the  Whigs,  and  increase  the  audacity  with 
which  they  now,  in  action,  if  not  in  words,  contemned 
the  royal  authority.  The  provincial  troops  began  to 
assemble  in  force  around  Boston,  and  were  throw 
ing  up  defences,  when  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  at 
once  and  forever,  severed  the  tie  that  bound  the  col 
onies  to  the  parent  country.  The  fighting  on  this 
occasion  was  of  such  a  determined  character  as  to 
show  the  enemy  that  it  was  no  pastime  upon  which 
they  had  entered.  One  of  the  British  officers,  in 
writing  home  to  a  friend,  declared  that  "  the  rebels 
fought  more  like  devils  than  men."  The  loss  of  the 
British,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  1054.  That  of 
the  provincials,  139  killed  and  314  wounded.  The 
great  calamity  of  the  day  was  the  fall  of  the  brave 
and  accomplished  Warren,  who  was  shot  through 
the  head  early  in  the  action. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that,  with  the  evidence  be 
fore  them  of  Colonel  Johnson's  exertions  to  excite 
he  Indians  against  the  provincial  cause,  the  friends  of 
the  latter  were  by  any  means  inactive.  On  the  con 
trary,  they  left  no  fair  and  honourable  means  untried 
so  far  to  win  upon  their  favour  as,  at  least,  to  secure 
their  neutrality  in  the  contest ;  nor  were  they  whol 
ly  unsuccessful,  although  the  majority  of  the  Six 
Nations  ultimately  threw  themselves  into  the  oppo 
site  scale.  Disappointed  in  not  meeting  a  fuller  and 
more  general  council  at  Guy  Park  in  May,  a  confer 
ence  was  arranged  with  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaro- 
ras,  through  the  agency  of  their  friend,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirkland,  which  took  place  at  the  German 
Flatts  on  the  28th  of  June.  The  Indians  were  met 
by  the  inhabitants  of  that  district,  and  also  by  a 
deputation  from  Albany.  The  minutes  of  that  meet 
ing  were  not  preserved  at  large  among  the  papers 
of  the  Tryon  County  Committee.  The  result  of 
the  council,  hov/ever,  was  to  obtain  a  pledge  of  neu- 


80  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

trality  from  the  greater  portion  of  the  Indians  as 
sembled.  The  efforts  of  Mr.  Kirkland  had  uniform 
ly  been  directed  to  the  same  humane  design. 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
had  previously  left  the  lower  district  of  the  Mohawk 
Valley.  He  was  a  man  of  too  much  discernment, 
holding  the  opinions  he  did,  to  remain  at  Johnstown 
an  inactive  spectator  of  events,  the  inevitable  ten 
dency  of  which  could  only  be  very  soon  to  rouse 
the  whole  thirteen  colonies  to  arms  against  the 
British  power,  and  he  had  prudently  anticipated 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  in  his  departure.  But  his 
movements  had  thus  far  been  pacific,  or,  rather,  not 
openly  belligerant ;  and  it  is  probable  that  an  exci 
ted  and  jealous  people  may  not  have  treated  him, 
during  his  hegira,  with  all  their  wonted  respect. 

Making  a  very  brief  sojourn  at  Fort  Stanwix,  Guy 
Johnson  hastened  as  far  west  as  Ontario,  there  to 
hold  a  grand  council  with  the  Indians,  remote  from 
the  white  settlements ;  and  where,  as  he  alleged, 
their  action  might  be  independent,  and  unembar 
rassed  by  the  interference  of  the  colonists.  It  was 
at  Ontario  that  he  received  a  letter  from  the  Pro 
vincial  Congress  of  New- York,  written  at  the  soli 
citation  of  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  and  com 
plaining  of  his  alleged  endeavours  to  fill  the  minds 
of  the  Indian  tribes  with  sentiments  injurious  to  the 
colonies.  He  replied  to  it,  on  the  8th  of  July,  in  a 
letter  glowing  with  loyalty,  and  complaining  bitter 
ly  of  the  malecontents,  and  those  in  opposition  tc 
regular  governments,  who,  he  again  repeated,  were 
exciting  the  Indians  against  him. 

Colonel  Johnson  was  accompanied  in  his  depar 
ture  by  Joseph  Brant,  or  Thayendanegea,  his  secre 
tary,  and  by  Colonel  John  Butler  and  his  son  Wal 
ter,  and  they  succeeded  in  convening  a  very  largo 
council  at  Ontario.  The  greater  portion  of  the  In 
dians  attending,  however,  were  probably  Cayugas 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  81 

and  Senecas.  These  were  now  far  the  most  nu 
merous  of  the  Six  Nations,  although  the  Mohawks 
yet  stood  in  rank  at  the  head  of  the  confederacy. 
Formerly  the  last-mentioned  tribe  had  been  the 
most  numerous  and  powerful  of  the  cantons ;  but 
at  an  early  day  after  the  planting  of  the  colony  of 
New- York,  the  French  had  succeeded  in  seducing  a 
large  section  of  the  Mohawks  to  return  to  Canada, 
whence  they  originally  came,  after  breaking  the  vas 
salage  in  which  they  had  been  held  by  the  Algon- 
quins.  Their  proximity  to  the  whites,  moreover, 
had  been  attended  jpy  the  effect,  invariable  and  seem 
ingly  inevitable,  in  regard  to  their  race,  of  diminish 
ing  their  numbers.  Added  to  all  which,  their  war 
like  character,  and  their  daring  ferocity,  exposing 
them  to  more  frequent  perils  than  were  encountered 
by  their  associated  cantons,  had  contributed  still 
farther  to  this  unequal  diminution.* 

It  is  not  known  that  any  record  of  this  council 
was  preserved,  although  the  speeches  interchanged 
were  doubtless  written,  since  that  was  the  universal 
practice  in  the  conduct  of  Indian  intercourse.  But 
no  doubt  exists  as  to  the  fact  that  the  superintend 
ent  succeeded  in  still  farther  alienating  the  affec 
tions  of  the  great  majority  of  the  Indians  from  the 
Americans,  if  they  did  not  immediately  join  the 
ranks  of  the  invaders.  Nor,  when  all  the  circum 
stances  of  their  case  and  position  are  dispassion 
ately  considered,  is  it  surprising  that  their  inclina 
tions  were  favourable  to  the  crown.  On  the  con 
trary,  the  wonder  is  that  Colonel  Johnson  did  not 

*  Among-  the  manuscripts  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  I  have  found  a  cen 
sus  of  the  Northern  and  Western  Indians,  from  the  Hudson  River  to  the 
great  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  taken  in  1763.  The  Mohawk  warriors 
•were  then  only  160;  the  Oneidas,  250;  Tuscaroras,  140;  Onondagas, 
150  ;  Cayugas,  200  ;  Senecas,  1050  :  total,  1950.  According-  to  the  cal 
culation  of  a  British  agent,  several  of  the  tribes  must  have  increased 
between  the  close  of  the  French  war  and  the  beginning  of  the  American 
Revolution,  as  it  was  computed  that,  during  the  latter  contest,  the  Eng 
lish  had  in  service  300  Mohawks,  150  Oneidas,  '200  Tuscaroras,  300 
Onondagas,  230  Cayutras,  and  400  Seneoas.—  Author. 

VOL.  L—  c; 


82  BORDERS    WARS    OF    THE 

succeed  in  carrying  with  him  the  Oneidas  and  Tus- 
caroras  also  ;  and  he  probably  would  have  done  so 
but  for  the  salutary,  though  indirect  influence  of  Mr 
Kirkland,  and  their  noble  chief,  the  sagacious  Schen- 
andoah,  always  the  warm  and  unwavering  friend 
of  the  colonists.     With  regard  to  these  Indians,  it 
must  be  considered  that  they  had  then  been  in  alli 
ance  with  Great  Britain  during  a  period  of  more 
than  one  hundred  years.     In  all  their  wars  with 
their  implacable  enemies  the  Algonquins,  acting  in 
alliance  with  the  French,  the  Six  Nations  had  been 
assisted  by  the  English,  or  fighting  side  by  side  with 
them.      For   a  long   series  of  years  Sir  William 
Johnson  had  been  their  counsellor  and  friend.     His 
family  was,  to  a  certain  extent,  allied  with  the  head 
canton  of  the  confederacy,  and  he  was  consulted  by 
them  in  all  affairs  of  business,  or  of  high  emergen 
cy,  as  an  oracle.     They  had  drawn  their  supplies 
through  him  and  his  agents,  and  it  was  natural  that, 
upon  his  decease,  their  affection  for  him  should  be 
transferred  to  his  successor  in  office,  who  was  also 
his  son-in-law.    Miss  Molly,  moreover,  was  a  woman 
of  vigorous  understanding  and  of  able  management. 
And,  as  we  have  already  seen,  she  and  Colonel  Guy 
himself  were  sustained  by  the  powerful  aid  of  Thay- 
endanegea,  who  united  the  advantages  of  education 
with  the  native  sagacity  of  his  race.     Added  to  all 
which,  the  cause  was  considered,  if  not  desperate, 
at  least  of  doubtful  issue ;  while  the  unenlightened 
Indians  had  been  taught  to  hear  the  name  of  the 
king  with  great  reverence,  and  to  believe  him  all- 
powerful.    They  considered  the  officers  of  the  crown 
their  best  friends  ;  and  it  was  but  natural  that  they 
should  hold  on  upon  the  great  chain  which  they  had 
so  long  laboured  to  keep  bright  between  them. 

It  has  already  been  remarked,  that,  thus  far,  Col 
onel  Guy  Johnson  had  committed  no  act  of  actual 
hostility.  While  this  council  was  holding  in  Onta 
rio,  however,  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mohawk  was 
filled  with  alarm,  bv  reports  that  he  was  preparing  an 


AMERIC\N    REVOLUTION.  83 

expedition  to  return  upon  them,  and  lay  the  country 
waste  oy  rire  and  sword.  On  the  llth  of  July,  Col 
onel  Keikirner  wrote  from  Canajoharie  to  the  Pala 
tine  Committee,  that  he  had  received  credible  intelli 
gence  that  morning,  that  Guy  Johnson  was  ready  to 
march  back  upon  them  with  a  body  of  eight  or  nine 
hundred  Indians,  and  that  the  attack  would  be  com 
menced  from  the  woods  below  the  Little  Falls,  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  river.  He  therefore  proposed 
sending  to  Albany  immediately  for  a  corresponding 
number  of  men:  An  urgent  letter  was  forthwith  de 
spatched  by  the  committee  to  Schenectady  and  Al 
bany  for  the  amount  of  assistance  mentioned,  "  to 
prevent  these  barbarous  enterprises,"  and  to  enable 
them  "  to  resist  their  inhuman  enemies  with  good 
success — that  they  might  not  be  slaughtered,  like 
innocent  and  defenceless  sheep  before  ravaging 
wolves." 

From  the  positive  character  of  the  intelligence, 
and  the  mysterious  movements  of  Guy  Johnson  and 
his  followers,  the  inhabitants  had  good  cause  of 
alarm ;  more  especially  as  Sir  John  Johnson*  re 
mained  at  the  Hall  in  Johnstown,  having  at  his  beck 
a  large  body  of  Loyalists,  making  his  castle  (for  the 
Hall  was  now  fortified)  their  headquarters,  who,  in 
the  event  of  such  a  movement  by  his  brother-in-law 
from  the  west,  would  doubtless  be  prepared  to  join 
the  Indians  in  the  enterprise,  and,  between  them 
both,  be  able  to  whelm  the  settlements  in  destruc 
tion  at  a  single  blow.  Every  possible  preparation 
was  therefore  made  for  their  defence,  but  the  alarm 
proved  to  be  without  foundation ;  and  after  Guy 
Johnson  had  completed  his  business  at  Ontario,  he 
returned  to  Oswego,  where  he  very  soon  afterward 
convened  another  council  and  held  a  treaty,  at  which 
he  succeeded  in  still  farther  estranging  the  Indians 
from  the  colonies. f 

*  Sir  John  Johnson  held  a  commission  as  brifradicr-general  of  militia, 
t  The  following  passage  from  Ramsay's  History  of  tho  Revolution 


84  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

From  Oswego  Guy  Johnson  crossed  into  Canada, 
and  thence  descended  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Mon 
treal,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  the  chiefs 
and  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations,  who  were  invited 
to  an  interview  with  Sir  Guy  Carleton  and  Sir  Fred 
eric  Haldimand — both  those  distinguished  officers 
being  in  that  city  at  the  time — and  were  induced  by 
them  to  embark  in  the  cause  of  the  king. 

It  has  often  been  asserted,  especially  by  British 
historians,  that  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  opposed  to 
the  employment  of  the  Indians  in  the  contest,  from 
principles  of  humanity.  Such,  however,  was  not 
the  fact.  Brant  repeatedly  asserted  in  after  life,  in 
speeches  delivered  by  him,  copies  of  which  are  yet 
extant,  that  on  their  first  arrival  in  Montreal,  Gen 
eral  Carleton  proposed  to  them  to  enter  the  service. 

Strict  historical  accuracy  is  often  of  slow  at 
tainment  ;  but,  after  all  deductions  from  the  merits 
of  General  Carleton,  afterward  Lord  Dorchester, 
enough  that  is  truly  excellent  and  great  will  remain 
to  leave  him  a  reputation  of  which  most  public  men 
might  well  be  proud. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  second  Continental  Congress,  composed  of 
delegates,  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on  the  10th  of 

seems  to  refer  to  this  Indian  convocation  at  Osweg-o.  There  was  no  other 
meeting-  during  that  year  to  which  this  notice  of  Ramsay  could  refer. 
"  Colonel  Johnson  had  repeated  conferences  with  the  Indians,  and  endeav 
oured  to  influence  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet,  but  they  steadily  refused. 
In  order  to  gain  their  co-operation,  he  invited  them  to  a  feast  on  a  Bos- 
tonian,  and  to  drink  his  blood.  This,  in  the  Indian  style,  meant  no  more 
than  to  partake  of  a  roasted  ox  and  a  pipe  of  wine  at  a  public  entertain 
ment,  which  was  given  on  design  to  influence  them  to  co-operate  with 
the  British  troops.  The  colonial  patriots  affected  to  understand  it  in  its 
literal  sense.  It  furnished,  in  their  mode  of  explication,  a  convenient  haa 
•lie  for  operating  on  the  passions  of  the  people." 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  85 

iVTay.  Hostilities  having  actually  commenced,  and 
it  being-  well  understood  that  large  re-enforcements 
of  the  British  army  were  on  their  way  from  Eng 
land,  no  time  was  lost  in  preparing  for  the  public  de 
fence.  Protesting  that  they  "  wished  for  a  restora 
tion  of  the  harmony  formerly  subsisting  between 
the  mother-country  and  the  colonies,"  they  resolv 
ed  again  to  present  "  a  humble  and  dutiful  petition 
to  his  majesty ;"  prepared  addresses  to  the  people 
of  Great  Britain,  to  those  of  Canada,  and  to  the 
Assembly  of  Jamaica  ;  voted  for  the  immediate 
equipment  of  20,000  men  ;  voted  to  raise  three  mill 
ions  on  bills  of  credit  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
war  ;  and,  on  the  nomination  of  John  Adams,  com 
missioned  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  of  Virginia,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief.  On  the  4th  of  July,  Congress  de 
nounced  the  two  acts  of  Parliament  of  the  prece 
ding  session,  restraining  the  trade  and  commerce 
of  the  colonies,  as  "unconstitutional,  oppressive,  and 
cruel ;"  and  on  the  6th  they  agreed  to  a  manifesto, 
"  setting  forth  the  causes  and  necessity  of  their 
taking  up  arms."  After  a  spirited  but  temperate 
preamble,  presenting  an  historical  view  of  the  or 
igin,  progress,  and  conduct  of  the  colonies,  and  of 
the  measures  of  the  British  government  since  the 
peace  of  1763  ;  and  after  an  eloquent  recapitula 
tion  of  the  grievances  which  had  produced  the  col 
lision,  and  proclaiming  their  confidence  of  obtaining 
foreign  aid  if  necessary,  and  of  ultimate  success ; 
disavowing,  moreover,  any  intention  to  dissolve  the 
connexion  between  the  parent  country  and  the  colo 
nies,  the  declaration  proceeded,  "We  most  solemn 
ly,  before  God  and  the  world,  DECLARE,  that,  exerting 
the  utmost  energy  of  those  powers  which  our  benefi 
cent  Creator  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  the  arms  we 
have  been  compelled  by  our  enemies  to  assume,  we 
will,  in  defiance  of  every  hazard,  with  unabating  firm 
ness  and  perseverance,  employ  for  the  preservation 
of  our  liberties,  being  with  one  mind  resolved  to 


86  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

die  FREEMEN  rather  than  live  SLAVES."  They  pro 
tested  that  they  would  lay  down  their  arms  when 
hostilities  should  cease  on  the  part  of  the  aggres 
sors,  and  not  before.  Reposing  their  confidence  in 
the  mercy  of  the  Impartial  Judge  and  Ruler  of  the 
Universe,  and  imploring  his  goodness  to  protect 
and  carry  them  through  the  conflict,  they  appointed 
the  20th  of  July  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  public 
humiliation,  fasting,  and  prayer  with  that  view.  It 
was  generally  observed,  and  was  the  first  national 
fast  ever  proclaimed  in  the  New  World. 

But  amid  all  the  arduous  duties  demanding  the 
attention  of  Congress,  the  importance  of  keeping  a 
watchful  eye  upon  the  Indians  was  universally  con 
ceded.  The  position  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  well  as 
their  power  to  do  mischief,  could  not  but  strike  the 
observation  of  all.  They  had  served  as  a  useful 
barrier  between  the  English  settlements  and  the 
French  in  Canada  in  former  wars,  and  were  often 
actively  engaged  as  auxiliaries.  Their  position 
and  their  utility  would  be  now  precisely  the  same 
between  the  Americans  and  the  English  in  Canada. 
It  was,  therefore,  deemed  of  the  first  consequence, 
if  possible,  to  prevent  them  from  taking  sides  with 
the  English  ;  not,  however,  with  a  view  to  their  em 
ployment  in  arms  by  ourselves ;  since,  notwith 
standing  the  disposition  manifested  by  the  Congress 
of  Massachusetts  to  employ  the  Indians,  and  the  ac 
tual  engagement  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians  as  aux 
iliaries,  it  was,  nevertheless,  the  anxious  desire  of 
the  Congress  to  keep  them  in  a  position  of  neutral 
ity  as  between  England  and  the  colonies,  and  at 
peace  among  themselves  and  with  all.  For  the 
purpose  of  closer  observation  and  more  efficient  ac 
tion  in  respect  to  the  Indian  relations  of  the  coun 
try,  therefore,  an  Indian  Department,  with  three  sub 
divisions,  Northern,  Middle,  and  Southern,  was  es 
tablished  on  the  12th  of  July,  and  commissioners 
were  appointed  for  each,  "  with  power  to  treat  with 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  87 

the  Indians  in  their  respective  departments,  to  pre 
serve  peace  and  friendship,  and  to  prevent  their  ta 
king  any  part  in  the  present  commotions."  The 
commissioners  of  the  Northern  Department  were, 
Major-general  Philip  Schuyler,  Major  Joseph  H\w- 
ley,  Mr.  Turbot  Francis,  Mr.  Oliver  Wolcott,  and 
Mr.  Volkert  P.  Douw.  The  form  of  an  address  to 
the  several  tribes  of  Indians,  in  all  the  departments, 
was  agreed  upon,  to  be  altered  as  occasion  might 
require  for  local  adaptation.  This  address  was  fra 
med  after  the  manner  of  Indian  speeches,  and  con 
tained  a  summary  history  of  the  colonies,  and  of 
the  rise  and  progress  of  the  difficulties  between 
them  and  the  parent  country.  In  the  course  of  the 
address,  the  Indians  were  informed  of  the  nature 
and  objects  of  the  contest  then  begun,  and  were 
strongly  advised  to  the  preservation  of  neutrality. 

No  time  was  lost  by  the  commissioners  of  the 
Northern  Department  in  the  adoption  of  measures 
pursuant  to  its  wise  spirit  and  policy.  For  this 
purpose,  a  treaty  Avas  appointed  to  be  held  with  the 
Six  Nations  at  Albany,  in  the  month  of  August,  and 
the  tribes  were  all  invited  to  attend.  Previous  to 
the  day  of  meeting,  two  of  the  commissioners,  Mr. 
Douw  and  Colonel  Francis,  met  a  number  of  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  in  a  preliminary  council  at  the 
German  Flatts,  which  was  not  well  attended.  This 
conference  wras  holden  on  the  15th  and  16th  days 
of  August.  Observing  that  the  council  was  thinly 
attended,  Colonel  Francis  urged  them,  in  his  speech, 
to  send  a  general  invitation  to  all  the  Six  Nations 
to  appear  at  Albany ;  and  he  proposed  that  they 
should  also  send  belts  of  invitation  to  the  Caughna- 
wagas  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Montreal,  together 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Seven  Nations  on  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

The  council  having  adjourned  over  to  the  16th, 
Tiahogwando,  an  Oneida  sachem,  made  the  follow 
ing  reply  to  the  speech  of  the  commissioners  : 


88  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

"BROTHER  SoLmoANY,*>and  our  Albany  Brothers, 
attend !  We  are  now  assembled  at  the  German 
Flatts,  at  which  place  you  kindled  up  a  council  fire, 
and  yesterday  called  us  together,  and  acquainted  us 
from  whence  you  came,  and  by  whose  authority — • 
namely,  by  that  of  the  Twelve  United  Colonies— 
and  you  opened  your  business  to  us. 

"BROTHERS — We  thank  you  for  this  invitation. 
It  meets  with  our  entire  approbation.  Here  we  are, 
of  every  tribe  in  the  Six  Nations.  It  shall  be  done 
as  you  have  said. 

"  BROTHERS — You  have  desired  that  all  our  con 
federates  should  receive  this  invitation.  This  can 
not  be  done  short  of  one  year,  as  we  extend  very 
far,  and  could  not  possibly  call  the  extremities  of 
our  confederacy  to  this  intended  meeting.  But  pos 
sess  your  minds  in  peace.  When  this  congress  is 
over,  and  the  council  fire  is  raked  up,  we  shall  ac 
quaint  all  our  allies  with  what  has  passed.  This  is 
the  answer  of  all  the  Six  Nations,  who  are  now  here 
represented  from  every  tribe. 

"  BROTHERS,  ATTEND  !  Yesterday  you  said  you 
were  sensible  our  confederacy  extended  to  Caugh- 
nawaga,  and  you  desired  our  assistance  to  forward 
this  your  belt  of  invitation  to  the  Caughnawagas  and 
the  seven  tribes  in  that  quarter. 

"  BROTHERS — Possess  your  minds  in  peace.  We, 
the  Six  Nations,  are  put  to  difficulty  to  grant  this 
request.  We  are  much  embarrassed,  for  this  rea 
son.  The  man  is  now  there  who  will  vex  your 
minds,  and  never  consent  to  their  coming  down,  and 
will  draw  hard  upon  their  minds  another  way. j  He 
is  of  your  own  blood. 

"  BROTHERS — Possess  your  minds  in  peace.  We, 
of  the  Six  Nations,  have  the  minds  of  the  Caughna 
wagas  and  the  seven  tribes  in  that  quarter.  At  our 
central  council-house,  when  this  took  place,  they 

*  The  name  bestowed  upon  Colonel  Francis  by  the  Indians, 
t  Guy  Johnson  was  doubtless  the  man  referred  to. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  89 

addressed  us  of  the  Six  Nations  in  the  following 
manner :  '  You  are  better  capable  of  maintaining 
peace  than  we  are ;  therefore  we  deliver  up  our 
minds  to  you.'  For  these  reasons  we  advise  you 
to  reconsider  your  petition  to  us,  seeing  we  are  so 
embarrassed  we 'cannot  grant  it.  Perhaps  you  will 
say  to  us,  when  your  intended  council  fire  shall  be 
over,  '  Brother^,  do  you  of  the  Six  Nations  acquaint 
all  your  confederates  and  allies  of  what  has  passed 
at  this  council  fire  of  peace  ;'  and  this  we  shall  do 
with  great  care  and  exactness.  Now,  brothers,  you 
see  how  we  are  embarrassed,  and  therefore  give 
you  this  advice."  Belt  returned. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  Northern 
Department  met  at  Albany  on  the  23d  of  August 
(with  the  exception  of  Major  Hawley,  who  had  de 
clined  his  appointment  in  consequence  of  ill  health), 
and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for  holding 
the  treaty.  An  invitation  was  given  to  the  civil  au 
thorities  of  Albany,  to  pay  the  sachems  and  war 
riors  a  complimentary  visit,  in  company  with  the 
commissioners,  which  was  accepted.  A  committee 
of  the  principal  gentlemen  of  Albany  was  likewise 
appointed  to  join  in  the  complimentary  visit  on  the 
24th. 

In  the  course  of  this  interview,  the  sachems  inti 
mated  a  desire  to  have  a  consultation  with  the  mu 
nicipal  officers  of  the  city  of  Albany  before  they 
met  the  commissioners  in  formal  council.  It  ap 
pears  that  there  had  been  some  diplomatic  passages 
between  the  Oneida  Indians  and  the  Albanians,  and 
an  interchange  of  messengers,  and  the  chiefs  were 
now  desirous  of  having  a  conference  with  them. 
The  commissioners,  anxious  to  humour  the  Indians, 
assented  to  the  request ;  and  the  Albanians  appoint 
ed  a  committee,  consisting  of  Walter  Livingston, 
Jeremiah  Van  Rensselaer,  and  Samuel  Stringer,  to 
make  the  arrangements.  The  interview  took  place 
he  same  evening,  when  Seaghnagerat,  an  Oneida 
VOL  I.— H 


90  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

chief,  opened  the  proceedings  with  a  speech  of  very 
unusual  length  for  an  Indian.  He  commenced  by 
an  expression  of  his  gratification  that,  on  opening 
the  ashes  to  rekindle  the  old  council  fire,  they  had 
found  some  of  the  sparks  remaining.  He  next  re 
ferred  to  the  proceedings  of  a  previous  consultation 
at  the  German  Flatts,  touching  the  conduct  of  Guy 
Johnson  in  removing  their  missionaries,  and  other 
matters.  The  meeting  referred  to  seems  to  have 
been  a  partial  council,  to  which  the  Albanians  had 
sent  a  deputation,  the  object  of  which  was,  by  the 
exhibition  of  some  ancient  belts,  to  remind  the  In 
dians  of  a  former  covenant  of  peace  with  Quedar, 
and  to  dissuade  them  from  engaging  in  the  existing 
quarrel.  What  had  been  said  by  the  Albany  depu 
ties  at  the  conference  referred  to,  but  of  which  no 
record  seems  to  have  been  preserved,  was  now  re 
peated  in  substance  by  the  Oneida  chief,  after  the 
Indian  manner  of  conducting  their  councils.  He 
then  proceeded  to  reply  seriatim ;  from  which  cir 
cumstance  it  is  probable  that  the  former  council 
fire  had  been  raked  up  before  its  proceedings  were 
brought  to  a  close.  The  chief  admitted  that  "  evil 
birds"  had  been  busy  in  circulating  unpleasant  ru 
mours,  and  that  efforts  had  been  made  to  make  them 
swerve  from  their  neutrality  by  Guy  Johnson  or  his 
agents — at  least,  such  was  the  inference  from  the 
speech ;  but  he  over  and  over  again  protested  the 
determination  of  the  Six  Nations  to  avoid  interfe 
ring  with  the  controversy,  and  only  exhorted  the 
colonists  to  keep  the  path  into  their  country  open, 
so  that  they  could  pass  and  repass  without  molesta 
tion.  In  regard  to  the  removal  of  their  missiona 
ry,  the  chiefs  said  Guy  Johnson  had  done  it  pursu 
ant  to  "  a  belt"*  received  from  Governor  Gage.  He 
expressed  the  greatest  respect  for  Mr.  Kirkland; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  under  the  circumstances  of 
the  case,  suggested  whether  it  would  not,  on  the 

*  An  order. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  91 

whole,  be  better  for  Mr.  K.  to  leave  them  for  the 
present,  until  the  storm  should  be  over  and  gone. 

The  speech  having  been  ended,  the  Albanian  Com 
mittee  thanked  them  for  it,  and  promised  a  reply 
after  the  grand  council  with  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Twelve  Colonies  should  be  terminated. 

That  council  commenced  its  sittings  on  the  day 
following,  August  25th.  The  Oneida  speaker  of 
the  preceding  evening  opened  the  council  very  ap 
propriately,  after  which  the  commissioners,  before 
proceeding  formally  to  business,  proposed  that  they 
should  all  sit  down  and  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  to 
gether.  The  suggestion  was  acceded  to,  and  the 
calumet  passed  round.  This  ceremony  having  been 
ended,  the  commissioners  opened  their  mission  by 
a  very  appropriate  and  effective  speech,  reminding 
the  Indians  of  some  ancient  covenants  of  friendship 
with  the  colonists,  and  repeating  to  them  a  portion 
of  the  speech  of  Cannassateego,  an  old  and  popular 
sachem  of  the  Six  Nations,  whose  name  and  char 
acter  were  held  in  great  reverence  by  them,  deliv 
ered  thirty  years  before  at  a  great  council  held  in 
Lancaster.*  The  exhortation  was,  to  union  among 
themselves,  and  peace  and  friendship  with  the  col 
onists. 

The  council  was  then  adjourned  to  the  26th,  when 
the  commissioners  presented  the  address  from  the 
Congress,  of  which  particular  mention  has  been 
made  on  a  preceding  page.  The  deliberations  of 
Indian  councils  are  slow  procedures.  Their  lan 
guage  is  composed  of  long  and  intricate  compounds, 
and  the  necessity  of  deliberate  and  thorough  inter 
pretations,  so  that  the  matter  spoken  and  explained 
be  fastened  upon  the  memories  of  the  Indians,  who 
possess  not  the  advantage  of  written  language,  ren 
ders  the  process  tedious.  The  entire  sittings  of  two 
days  were  therefore  required  for  the  delivery  and 

*  A  brother  of  Cannassateego  was  present  on  this  occasion,  and  well 
remembered  his  words. 


92  BORDER   WARS    OF    THE 

interpretation,  by  Mr.  Kirkland,  of  the  congressional 
« talk''  with  which  the  commissioners  were  charged. 
At  the  close,  one  of  the  chiefs  declared  that  he  ad 
dress  contained  "nothing  but  what  was  pleasant 
and  good."  But,  as  the  matters  proposed  were  of 
n?gh  importance,  they  requested  the  next  day  for 
separate  deliberation  among  the  msel  ™>V™^? 
on  the  succeeding  day,  August  27th,  to  make  then: 
reply.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  31st  ol  Au 
gust  that  the  Indians  were  ready  to  ^  known 
fhe  results  of  their  own  secret  co uncils  The  r  an- 
swer  was  delivered  by  ^  Abraham ,^e  Mohawk 

of  the   Lower  Castle.      It  was  an   awe 

thoroughly 

1  veracity  o 
and  the  covenant  w 


anthe  covenan  wc 

by  Brant  and  his  followers  with  Sir  Guy  ^"let 
nnrt  Oeneral  Haldimand  at  Montreal.    We  allude 
the  declaration  of  Little  Abraham,  that  Johnson  had 
advised  "hem  to  assume  and  P-serve  a  neural  po^ 

then  probably  transpired  in  the  Mpkawk  vai 


son  of  their  old  friend,  Sir  William,  who  was  born 
momr  them  and  of  Dutch  extraction  by  his  moth- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  93 

had  been  sent  to  them  by  the  king ;  and  also  be 
cause  he  never  "meddled  with  civil  affairs,"  but 
was  intent  only  on  "  instructing  them  in  the  way  to 
heaven." 

In  the  conclusion  of  his  speech,  Abraham  took 
occasion  to  refer  to  some  domestic  matters  between 
themselves  and  the  people  of  Albany.  He  charged 
them  with  having  taken  two  pieces  of  land  from  the 
Mohawks,  without  paying  therefor  so  much  even  as 
a  pipe.  These  lands  the  Indians  desired  the  Twelve 
Colonies  to  restore,  and  put  them  into  peaceable 
possession  again.  "  If  you  refuse  to  do  this,"  said 
he,  "  we  shall  look  upon  the  prospect  as  bad  ;  for  if 
you  conquer,  you  will  take  us  by  the  arm  and  pull 
us  all  off."  In  thus  saying,  he  spoke  with  the  spirit 
of  prophecy ! 

When  Little  Abraham  had  ended,  Tiahogwando, 
an  Oneida,  made  a  short  speech  on  the  subject  of 
the  then  pending  bloody  and  bitter  controversy  be 
tween  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  respecting 
the  territory  of  Wyoming,  of  which  a  full  account 
will  follow  in  its  proper  place.  The  Indians  avow 
ed  that  the  land  had  been  conveyed  by  them  to  Penn 
as  a  free  gift,  the  Great  Spirit  not  allowing  them 
to  sell  that  country.  In  the  course  of  their  speech 
es,  the  chiefs  requested  that  the  Indian  trade  might 
be  reopened  with  them,  both  at  Albany  and  Sche- 
nectady,  and  that  somebody  might  be  appointed  to 
guard  the  tree  of  peace  at  Albany,  and  keep  the  con- 
cil  fire  burning. 

On  the  1st  of  September  the  commissioners  made 
their  reply,  conciliatory  in  its  character,  and  ac 
ceding  to  the  principal  requests  of  the  Indians.  They 
also  informed  the  chiefs  that  they  had  appointed 
General  Schuyler  and  Mr.  Douw  to  keep  the  fire 
burning.  Thus  ended  the  council  with  the  agents 
of  the  colonies.  The  "  unfinished  business"  with 
the  Albanians  was  resumed  on  the  next  day,  Sep 
tember  2d,  for  which  purpose  a  council  was  formed 


94  BORDER    WARS    OF  THE 

in  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  Commissioners 
of  the  United  Colonies  were  likewise  in  attendance. 
After  the  preliminaries  of  form  had  been  gone 
through  with,  the  Indians  were  addressed  at  length 
by  the  Albany  Committee.  In  the  course  of  their 
speech,  they  adverted  particularly  to  the  council  at 
Oswego,  and  the  proceedings  of  Guy  Johnson  at 
that  place,  respecting  which,  they  said,  they  had  re 
ceived  no  certain  advice,  and  of  which  they  wished 
to  be  fully  and  explicitly  informed.  In  regard  to 
the  land-question  interposed  by  the  Indians,  the 
committee  said  they  presumed  reference  was  had 
to  the  lands"  at  Ticonderoga.  That  was  a  question 
between  the  Indians  and  the  corporation  of  Albany , 
whereas  they  were  a  committee  from  the  people, 
and  could  not  entertain  the  question.  They  remind 
ed  the  Indians,  however,  that  the  question  had  been 
agitated  before,  and  settled  by  the  Colonial  Assem 
bly.  They  also  gave  them  to  understand  that  the 
Indians  were  not  the  party  having  cause  of  com 
plaint  in  that  matter. 

The  reply  of  the  Indians  was  delivered  by  Little 
Abraham.  Waiving  the  land-question,  he  proceed 
ed  to  answer  the  questions  put  to  them  concerning 
the  Oswego  council.  "  We  look  upon  it,"  said  he, 
"  that  God  will  punish  us  should  we  conceal  any 
thing  from  you."  The  following  passage  is  quoted 
from  the  reply  of  Abraham  : 

"  BROTHERS — The  transactions  of  that  treaty  were 
very  public.  The  Shawanese  were  there,  and  some 
from  Detroit.  Mr.  Johnson  told  us  that  the  fire 
kindled  there  was  a  fire  of  peace  ;  that  all  the  white 
people  were  the  king's  subjects,  and  that  it  seemed 
they  were  intoxicated.  He  said  the  white  people 
were  all  got  drunk,  and  that  God's  judgment  hung 
over  them,  but  he  did  not  know  on  which  side  it 
would  fall.  Mr.  Johnson  farther  told  us  that  the 
present  council  fire  was  kindled  on  account  of  the 
present  dispute,  and  desired  us  not  to  interfere,  as 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  95 

they  were  brothers  ;  and  begged  us  to  sit  still  and 
maintain  peace.  This  is  what  Colonel  Johnson  told 
us  at  that  council  fire.  He  also  said  he  had  his  eye 
on  Mr.  Kirkland :  that  he  was  gone  to  Philadelphia, 
and  along  the  seacoast :  that  he  was  become  a  great 
soldier  and  a  leader.  '  Is  this  your  minister  ?'  says 
he  ;  '  do  you  think  your  minister  minds  your  souls  I 
jNo.  By  the  time  he  comes  to  Philadelphia,  he  will 
be  a  great  warrior,  and  when  he  returns,  he  will  be 
the  chief  of  all  the  Vive  Nations,'  " 

The  report  of  the  proceedings  of  Guy  Johnson  at 
Oswego  was  certainly  unexpected,  and  entirely  at 
variance  with  the  tenour  of  his  conduct  previous  to 
his  departure  from  the  Mohawk  Valley,  and  during 
his  progress  to  the  West  It  is  barely  possible  that 
he  had  not  fully  made  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course 
he  might  ultimately  pursue,  and  that  his  purpose 
was  not  definitively  determined  upon  until  after  his 
meeting  with  Carleton  and  Haldimand  at  Montreal ; 
and  it  is  abundantly  certain  that  his  notions  of  Indian 
neutrality,  even  had  he  entertained  them,  were  very 
speedily  abandoned. 

With  the  delivery  of  Abraham's  speech,  however, 
the  council  was  closed ;  and  although  Schuyler  and 
Douw  had  been  appointed  to  keep  the  council  fire 
burning,  the  ashes  were  soon  raked  up — never  to  be 
opened  again  at  Albany,  for  that  was  the  last  grand 
Indian  council  ever  held  in  that  city. 

The  result  was  highly  satisfactory  to  the  com 
missioners,  and  apparently  so  to  the  Indians,  who 
had  been  well  provided  for  during  the  three  weeks  oc 
cupied  at  the  German  Flatts  and  Albany.  On  their 
departure,  moreover,  they  were  handsomely  supplied 
with  presents,  and  they  took  their  Leave  with  mani 
festations  of  great  good-wilL 

Most  unfortunately,  soon  after  their  retuni  from 
Albany,  an  epidemic  disorder  appeared  among  them, 
in  the  form  of  a  highly  malignant  fever.  It  was  a 
disease  which  they  had  never  seen,  and  by  it  great 


96  BORDER   WARS    OF   THE 

numbers  were  swept  away.  The  Schoharie  canton 
of  the  Mohawks,  in  particular,  suffered  very  severe 
ly;  indeed,  they  were  almost  exterminated.  The 
small  number  who  survived,  imbibed  the  impression 
that  the  Great  Spirit  had  sent  the  pestilence  upon 
them  in  anger  for  not  having  taken  sides  with  the 
king.  They  therefore  followed  their  brethren  from 
the  Mohawk  Valley,  who  had  escaped  to  Canada 
with  Guy  Johnson.  In  the  subsequent  invasions  of 
the  Tryon  county  settlements,  these  Schoharie  In 
dians,  who  thus  deserted  by  an  impulse  of  supersti 
tion,  were  among  the  most  forward  and  cruel.  It  ' 
should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that,  after  all,  the 
council  comprised  but  an  inadequate  and  partial  rep 
resentation  of  the  Six  Nations,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Oneidas  and  the  lower  clan  of  the  Mohawks. 
The  great  body  of  the  Mohawk  warriors,  headed  by 
Thayendanegea,  had  left  the  country  ;  and  the  most 
influential  of  the  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas 
had  also  accompanied  Brant  and  Guy  Johnson  to 
Montreal ;  and  events,  at  no  very  distant  day,  proved 
that  the  Albany  treaty  had  been  held  to  very  little 
purpose.  It  is  not  consistent  with  the  nature  or 
habits  of  Indians  to  remain  inactive  in  the  midst  of 
war. 

Still,  for  a  time,,  those  proceedings  were  not  with 
out  benefit  to  the  cause  of  the  country.  The  people 
of  Tryon  county  were  relieved,  by  the  stipulations 
of  peace  and  neutrality,  from  apprehensions  of  im 
mediate  danger  from  without;  and  the  Committee 
of  Safety  was  consequently  enabled  to  direct  its  at 
tention,  not  only  to  the  more  efficient  organization 
of  the  settlements  for  defence,  but  to  the  civil  gov 
ernment  of  the  country. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  fine  spirit  manifested 
thus  far  by  a  majority  of  the  people  in  the  interior, 
and  that,  too,  under  all  the  disadvantages  we  have 
been  contemplating;  notwithstanding  the  decisive 
tone  of  the  language  used  in  denouncing  the  oppress 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  97 

sions  of  the  crown,  it  was  not  yet  exactly  certain 
that  the  colony  of  New-York  would  range  itself 
against  the  royal  authority.  Governor  Tryon,  who 
was  popular  in  the  colony,  had  recently  been  recall 
ed  from  North  Carolina,  and  again  appointed  govern 
or  of  New- York ;  and  he  was  exerting  his  utmost 
powers  to  detatch  her  from  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
seconded  by  the  Asia  man-of-war,  then  lying  in  the 
harbour,  and  commanding  the  city  of  New- York  by 
her  guns.  The  captain  of  the  Asia  had  threatened 
to  destroy  the  town  should  General  Lee,  who  was 
then  approaching  with  an  army  from  the  east,  be 
allowed  to  enter  it ;  and  such  were  the  prevalence 
of  terror  and  the  power  of  intrigue,  that  disaffection 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union  began  to  exhibit  itself 
openly  in  the  Provincial  Congress.  Indeed,  avow 
als  of  a  design  to  place  themselves  under  the  royal 
standard  were  unequivocally  uttered.  These  un 
toward  appearances  were  rendered  the  more  threat 
ening  by  the  discovery  of  a  secret  correspondence, 
from  which  it  was  ascertained  that  the  parent  gov 
ernment  was  preparing  to  send  a  fleet  into  the  Hud 
son,  and  to  occupy  both  New- York  and  Albany  with 
its  armies.  Of  these  designs  Sir  John  Johnson  was 
probably  well  aware,  and  the  hope  of  their  accom 
plishment  may  have  induced  him  to  linger  behind, 
watching  the  signs  of  the  times,  after  the  departure 
of  his  brother-in-law  and  his  army  of  followers.  Sir 
John  had  also  a  numerous  tenantry,  who  were  mostly 
Loyalists  ;  and  the  Scotch  colonists,  settled  in  large 
numbers  in  Johnstown  and  its  neighbourhood,  of 
whom  mention  has  formerly  been  made,  being  Loy 
alists  likewise,  constituted  for  him  a  respectable 
force  upon  which  he  could  rely  in  a  case  of  emer 
gency. 

The  Dutch  and  German  population  of  the  valley, 
however,  were  chiefly  Whigs  ;  as  also,  by  this  time, 
were  a  decided  majority  of  the  entire  white  popu 
lation,  not  only  of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  but  of  Scho- 


98  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

harie,  Cherry  Valley,  and  the  other  settlements  in 
the  southern  part  of  that  widely-extended  county. 
The  General  Committee  executed  their  functions 
with  equal  diligence  and  vigour.  The  inhabitants 
were  enrolled  and  organized  into  militia ;  the  com 
mittee  deposed  the  sheriff,  Alexander  White,  arid 
caused  Colonel  John  Frey  to  be  appointed  in  his 
place  ;  and,  in  one  word,  they  took  upon  themselves 
both  the  civil  and  military  jurisdiction  of  the  large 
section  of  country  over  which  they  had  provision 
ally  assumed  the  government.  White  had  rendered 
himself  particularly  odious  to  the  Whigs  from  the « 
first.  Under  some  trifling  pretext,  he  had  arrested 
a  Whig  named  John  Fonda,  and  committed  hkn  to 
prison.  His  friends,  to  the  number  of  fifty  men, 
under  the  conduct  of  Sampson  Sammons,  went  to 
the  jail  at  night  and  released  him  by  force.  From 
the  prison  they  proceeded  to  the  lodgings  of  the 
sheriff,  and  demanded  his  surrender.  White  looked 
out  from  the  second  story  window,  and  probably  rec 
ognising  the  leader  of  the  crowd,  inquired,  "  Is  that 
you,  Sammons]"  "Yes,"  was  the  prompt  reply; 
upon  which  White  discharged  a  pistol  at  the  sturdy 
Whig,  but  happily  without  injury.  The  ball  whizzed 
past  his  head,  and  struck  in  the  sill  of  the  door. 
This  was  the  first  shot  fired  in  the  war  of  the  Rev 
olution  west  of  the  Hudson.  It  was  immediately 
returned  by  the  discharge  of  some  forty  or  fifty 
muskets  at  the  sheriff,  but  the  only  effect  was  a 
slight  wound  in  the  breast,  just  sufficient  to  draw 
blood.  The  doors  of  the  house  were  broken,  and 
White  would  have  been  taken,  but  at  that  moment 
a  gun  was  fired  at  the  hall  by  Sir  John.  This  was 
known  to  be  a  signal  for  his  retainers  and  Scotch 
partisans  to  rally  in  arms  ;  and  as  they  would  muster 
a  force  of  five  hundred  men  in  a  very  short  time,  the 
Whigs  thought  it  most  prudent  to  disperse.  They 
collected  again  at  Caughnawaga,  however,  and  sent 
a  deputation  to  Sir  John,  demanding  that  White 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  99 

should  be  given  up  to  them.  This  demand,  of 
course,  was  not  complied  with. 

After  his  dismissal,  as  already  mentioned,  by  an 
act  of  the  people  "in  their  sovereign  capacity," 
White  was  recommissioned  by  Governor  Tryon ; 
but  the  County  Committee  would  not  suffer  him  to 
re-enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  office.  On  the  con 
trary,  so  high  was  the  popular  indignation  against 
him  that  he  was  obliged  to  fly,  setting  his  face  to 
wards  Canada,  accompanied  by  a  white  man  named 
Peter  Bone,  and  two  or  three  Indians.  He  was  pur 
sued  to  Jessup's  Landing  on  the  Hudson  River, 
where  the  house  in  which  he  lodged  was  surround 
ed,  and  the  fugitive  sheriff  taken  prisoner;  from 
thence  he  was  taken  to  Albany  and  imprisoned. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  released  on  his  parole,  and 
left  the  country. 

The  exigencies  of  the  times  required  prompt  and 
vigorous  action,  and  the  committee  seems  to  have 
been  composed  of  exactly  the  right  description  of 
men.  They  arrested  suspicious  persons,  tried  them, 
fined  some,  imprisoned  more,  and  executed  others. 
Their  duties  also  involved  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  in  a  critical  period,  among  a  mixed  population 
of  border-men,  ever  more  or  less  disposed  to  impa 
tience  under  legal  restraint,  and,  of  course,  requi 
ring  the  controlling  power  of  a  strong  arm.  And 
yet  these  high  duties  were  generally  discharged 
with  great  satisfaction  to  the  public — the  Loyalists 
excepted,  of  course — and  their  resolutions  and  de 
crees  were  submitted  to  by  their  constituents  with 
alacrity.  Their  influence  was  likewise  successfully 
exerted  in  winning  friends  to  the  popular  cause,  by 
deciding  the  wavering  and  confirming  the  irresolute. 

Added  to  these  multifarious  duties  was  the  ne 
cessity  of  keeping  a  vigilant  watch  over  the  motions 
of  Sir  John  Johnson,  whose  position  and  conduct 
were  alike  equivocal,  and  the  numerous  Loyalists 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded.  By  these  people  ev- 


100  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ery  possible  obstacle  was  thrown  in  the  way  of  the 
committee,  and  no  method  of  annoying  and  embar 
rassing  them  left  untried.  They  laboured  to  destroy 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the  committee  ;  call 
ed  public  meetings  themselves,  and  chose  counter- 
committees  ;  now  attempted  to  cover  the  Whig  com 
mittees  with  ridicule,  and  now  again  charged  them 
with  illegal  and  tyrannical  conduct.  The  conse 
quence  was  mutual  exasperation — sometimes  be 
tween  near  neighbours,  and  the  reciprocal  engen 
dering  of  hostile  feelings  between  friends,  who  ran 
ged  themselves  under  opposing  banners.  These  in 
cipient  neighbourhood  quarrels  occasioned,  in  the 
progress  of  the  contest  that  ensued,  some  of  the 
most  bitter  and  bloody  personal  conflicts  that  ever 
marked  the  annals  of  a  civil  war.  Several  mem 
bers  of  the  committee  subsequently  acted  a  distin 
guished  part  in  the  field ;  many  of  them  sacrificed 
their  estates,  and  some  of  them  fell.  CHRISTOPHER 
P.  YATES,  the  first  chairman,  accompanied  General 
Montgomery  as  a  volunteer  to  Ticonderoga  and  Can 
ada,  and  afterward  raised  and  commanded  a  corps 
of  rangers.  The  fate  of  Nicholas  Herkimer  is  well 
known,  though  his  death  will  be  invested  with  new 
and  additional  interest  in  the  progress  of  this  narra 
tive. 

In  regard  to  Sir  John,  matters  were  now  fast  ap 
proaching  to  a  crisis.  On  the  7th  of  September  the 
committee  wrote  to  the  Provincial  Congress  in 
New- York,  denouncing  his  conduct  and  that  of  his 
associates,  particularly  the  Highlanders,  who,  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred,  were  said  to  be  gathered 
about  him,  and  by  whom  the  Whigs  "  were  daily 
scandalized,  provoked,  and  threatened."  They  ad 
ded,  "  We  have  great  suspicions,  and  are  almost  as 
sured,  that  Sir  John  has  a  continual  correspondence 
with  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  and  his  party."* 

*  It  was  afterward  ascertained  that  such  a  correspondence  was  car 
ried  on  through  the  Indians,  who  conveyed  letters  in  the  heads  of  their 


AMERICAN,  REVOLUTION     _    _       ,      101 

No  sooner  had  the  Congress*  of  THE  TWELVE  UNI 
TED  COLONIES  agreed  to  the  Declaration,  or  manifes 
to,  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  chap 
ter,  proclaiming  to  the  world  the  causes,  and  the  ne 
cessity  of  their  appeal  to  arms,  than  it  was  felt,  on 
all  hands,  even  by  the  timid  and  hesitating,  that 
England  and  the  colonies  now  stood,  not  in  the  re 
lation  of  parent  and  children,  but  in  the  attitude  of 
two  nations  legally  at  war.  Hence  the  patriots  of 
Tryon  county  began  to  look  more  closely,  and  with 
greater  assurance,  to  the  deportment  of  Sir  John, 
of  whose  designs,  as  has  been  seen,  they  had  from 
the  first  entertained  strong  suspicions.  The  move 
ments  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  moreover,  Governor- 
general  of  Canada,  who  had  been  commissioned  to 
muster. and  arm  all  persons  within  that  province, 
and  to  wage  war  by  land  and  sea  against  "  all  ene 
mies,  pirates,  or  rebels,  either  in  or  out  of  the  prov 
ince,"  to  "  take  them  and  put  them  to  death,  or  pre 
serve  them  alive,  at  his  discretion,"  were  now  cre 
ating  great  uneasiness  on  the  northern  frontier,  from 
which  quarter  they  were  apprehending  a  formidable 
invasion.  The  management  of  the  northern  depart 
ment  having  been  committed  to  Generals  Schuyler 
and  Montgomery,  who  were  now  directing  a  force 
upon  Montreal  and  Quebec,  the  Tryon  County  Com 
mittee  determined  to  probe  the  intentions  of  Sir  John 
Johnson  at  once  and  to  the  bottom.  For  this  pur 
pose,  on  the  26th  of  October,  they  addressed  him 
*lie  following  letter : 

"  Tryon  County  Committee  Chumber,  Oct.  2G.  177j 

"  HONOURABLE  SIR, 

"  As  we  find  particular  reason  to  be  convinced  of 
your  opinion  in  the  questions  hereafter  expressed, 
we  require  you  that  you'll  please  to  oblige  us  with 
your  sentiments  thereupon  in  a  few  lines  by  our 

tomahawks  and  in  the  ornaments  worn  about  thoir  persons.     The  In 
dians  also  brought  powder  across  from  Canada. — CampbelVs  Annals. 


•102  tBQRDI?R  .WARS    OF    THE 

messengers,  tho 'bearers- hereof,  Messrs.  Ebenezt*' 
Cox,  James  M'Master,  and  John  James  Klock,  meri»- 
be*s  of  our  committee. 

"  We  want  to  know  whether  you  will  allow  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Johnstown  and  Kingsborough  may 
form  themselves  into  companies,  according  to  the 
regulations  of  our  Continental  Congress,  for  the  de 
fence  of  our  country's  cause  ;  and  whether  your  hon 
our  would  be  ready  himself  to  give  his  personal  as 
sistance  to  the  same  purpose  1 

"  Also,  whether  you  pretend  a  prerogative  to  oui 
county  courthouse  and  jail,  and  would  hinder  or  in 
terrupt  the  committee  to  make  use  of  the  same  pub 
lic  houses  to  our  want  and  service  in  the  common 
cause  !• 

"  We  don't  doubt  you  will  comply  with  our  rea 
sonable  requests,  and  thereby  oblige, 

"  Honourable  Sir, 
"  Your  obedient  and  humble  servants. 

"  By  order  of  the  committee, 

"  NICHOLAS  HERKIMER,  Chairman. 

"  To  the  lion.  Sir  John  Johnson,  Johnson  Hall." 

The  deputation  named  in  the  letter  waited  upon 
Sir  John  in  person  to  receive  his  answer,  the  sub 
stance  of  which  they  reported  to  the  committee  ver 
bally  as  follows,  viz. : 

"1.  By  perusing  our  letter,  Sir  John  replied  that 
he  thinks  our  requests  very  unreasonable,  as  he  nev 
er  had  denied  the  use  either  of  the  courthouse  or 
jail  to  anybody,  nor  would  yet  deny  it,  for  the  use 
which  these  houses  have  been  built  for ;  but  he  looks 
upon  it  that  the  courthouse  and  jail  are  his  property 
till  he  is  paid  £700,  the  amount  of  which  being  out 
of  his  pocket  for  the  building  of  the  same. 

"  2.  In  regard  of  imbodying  his  tenants  into  com 
panies,  he  never  did  forbid  them,  neither  should  do 
it,  as  they  may  use  their  pleasure ;  but  we  might 
save  ourselves  the  trouble,  he  being  sure  that  they 
would  not. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  103 

"  3.  Concerning  himself,  he  said,  that  before  he 
would  sign  any  association,  or  would  lift  his  hand 
up  against  his  king,  he  would  rather  suffer  that  his 
head  shall  be  cut  off. 

"  Farther,  he  replied,  that  if  we  should  make  any 
unlawful  use  of  the  jail,  he  would  oppose  it,  and  also 
he  mentions  that  there  have  many  unfair  means 
been  used  for  increasing  the  association  and  uniting 
the  people  ;  for  he  was  informed  by  credible  gentle 
men  in  New- York  that  they  were  obliged  to  unite, 
otherwise  they  could  not  live  there  ;  and  that  he  was 
informed  by  good  authority  that  likewise  two  thirds 
of  the  Canajoharie  and  German  Flatts  people  have 
been  forced  to  sign  the  articles ;  and  in  his  opinion 
the  Boston  people  are  open  rebels,  and  the  other 
colonies  have  joined  them." 

Immediately  on  receiving  this  report,  the  com 
mittee  determined  to  bring  the  question  of  the  oc 
cupancy  of  the  jail  to  an  issue.  They  therefore  di 
rected  that  two  of  their  prisoners,  named  Lewis 
Clement  and  Peter  Bowen,  who  had  been  sentenced 
to  certain  periods  of  confinement  for  political  offen 
ces,  should  be  forthwith  conveyed  to  the  prison,  un 
der  a  guard  commanded  by  Captain  JACOB  SEEBEH. 
with  instructions  that,  should  the  jailer  refuse  to  re 
ceive  them  into  close  confinement  for  the  time  spe 
cified,  or  should  they  be  opposed  by  Sir  John,  then 
Captain  Seeber  was  to  bring  them  to  the  house  of 
"  our  voted  and  elected  new  high-sheriff,  John  Frey, 
Esq.,  who  shall  immediately  inform  thereof  our 
chairman  for  farther  directions." 

Sir  John  did  not  allow  the  committee  to  take  pos 
session  of  the  jail,  and  they  were  obliged  to  fit  up  a 
private  house  as  a  temporary  prison ;  while  some 
of  their  prisoners  were  sent  to  Albany,  and  others 
us  far  as  Hartford,  for  safe  keeping. 

The  first  act  of  positive  hostility  on  the  part  of 
the  Indians,  during  this  bitter  and  bloody  contest, 
was  committed  in  the  autumn  of  the  present  year. 


104  BORDER  WARS    OP    THE 

General  Schuyler  having  been  obliged  temporarily 
to  leave  the  northern  army  in  consequence  of  ill 
health,  the  command  devolved  upon  General  Mont 
gomery,  who  had  advanced  a  second  time  upon  St. 
John's  and  captured  the  fortress,  Sir  Guy  Carleton 
having  been  repulsed  by  Colonel  Warner,  at  Lon- 
gueil,  in  his  attempt  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
advance  to  its  succour.  It  appears  that,  either  in 
the  first  or  second  attack  upon  St.  John's,  or  in  both, 
the  Americans  had  been  opposed  by  some  of  the 
Mohawk  Indians — those,  doubtless,  who  had  accom 
panied  Guy  Johnson  to  Canada.  Hence,  on  the  27th 
of  October,  the  Tryon  County  Committee  "  unani 
mously  resolved  that  a  letter  should  bo  sent  to  th*> 
sachems  of  the  Canajoharie  Castle,  in  regard  to  the 
return  and  present  abiding  of  some  Indians  in  their 
castle  from  Canada,  who  have  acted  inJTnically 
against  us,  and  fought  against  our  united  forces  nea, 
the  Fort  St.  John,  not  to  give  shelter  to  such  res, 
enemies  among  them." 

No  copy  of  the  letter  written  pursuant  to  this  res 
olution  has  been  preserved.  It  is  noted  among  ihf 
papers  of  the  committee,  however,  that  the  sachem? 
and  warriors  of  Canajoharie  Castle  appeared  before 
them  in  person,  and  made  a  pacific  answer  to  theia 
letter  of  remonstrance,  from  which,  and  other  cir 
cumstances,  the  presumption  is  reasonable  that  the 
Mohawks  remaining  about  their  ancient  castles  had 
not  yet  determined  to  swerve  from  their  engage 
ment  of  neutrality. 

Such  was  the  progress  of  the  Revolution  in  the 
county  of  Tryon  down  to  the  close  of  1775.  A 
rapid  glance  at  contemporaneous  events  not  already 
noted,  occurring  elsewhere,  will  close  the  history 
of  the  year.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  roused 
all  New-England  to  arms  ;  and  by  the  time  of  Gen 
eral  Washington's  arrival  to  assume  the  command, 
during  the  first  week  in  July,  the  British  forces  were 
so  effectually  shut  up  in  Boston  as  to  be  obliged  to 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  105 

Bend  out  small  vessels  to  a  distance  for  supplies. 
To  cut  up  this  species  of  coastwise  commerce,  the 
colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Con 
necticut  each  fitted  out  two  small  cruisers,  before 
Congress  had  made  a  suggestion  respecting  a  naval 
armament.  The  first  avowal  of  offensive  hostility 
against  the  mother-country  was  contained  in  the  act 
of  the  Massachusetts  Congress  for  fitting  out  a  na 
val  armament ;  and  among  the  first  fruits  was  the 
capture,  by  Captain  Manly,  of  Marblehead,  of  a  large 
British  ordnance  brig,  laden  with  several  brass  pie 
ces  of  artillery,  a  large  supply  of  small  arms,  tools, 
and  utensils  of  all  warlike  descriptions,  &c.  Three 
days  afterward  Captain  Manly  captured  three  more 
British  ships  laden  with  military  stores.  South 
Carolina  was  at  the  same  time  making  vigorous 
preparations  for  war,  but  had  not  exceeding  3000  Ibs 
of  gunpowder  within  the  province.  By  fitting  out  a 
fast-sailing  vessel,  however,  they  were  enabled  to 
intercept  a  supply  vessel  off  St.  Augustine,  and  ob 
tain  a  large  and  timely  addition  to  their  stores — 
15,000  pounds  of  gunpowder  alone.  Meantime,  the 
affairs  of  the  colonies  continued  to  form  the  leading 
and  most  exciting  topic  of  debate  in  the  British 
Parliament.  Lord  North,  who,  it  is  now  known, 
acted  throughout  this  great  struggle  more  in  obedi 
ence  to  the  positive  requisitions  of  the  king  than  in 
accordance  with  his  own  private  wishes,  insisted 
upon  the  strongest  measures  of  compulsion.  Gen 
eral  Conway,  Colonel  Lutterell,  Mr.  James  Gren- 
ville,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  and  Lord  Lyttleton,  spoke 
in  favour  of  concession,  and  argued  in  favour  of  re 
pealing  every  enactment  respecting  the  matters  in 
dispute  with  the  colonies  subsequent  to  the  year 
1763.  The  ministers  contended  that  they  might  as 
well  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  colonies 
at  once.  Mr.  Burke,  during  this  season,  made  his 
great  speech  on  American  affairs,  and  introduced  his 
conciliatory  bill,  proposing  "  a  renunciation  of  the 
VOL.  I. — I 


106  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

exercise  of  taxation,  without  at  all  interfering  with 
the  question  of  right.  It  preserved  the  power  of 
levying  duties  for  the  regulation  of  commerce,  but 
the  money  so  raised  was  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the 
several  general  assemblies.  The  tea-duty  was  to 
be  repealed,  and  a  general  amnesty  granted."  This 
proposition,  though  regarded  with  more  favour  than 
the  others,  was  rejected;  and  the  administration 
was  sustained  in  the  policy  of  sending  a  large  sea 
and  land  force  against  the  colonies,  with  offers  of 
mercy  upon  a  proper  submission.  The  Continental 
Congress,  however,  still  continued  its  efforts  to  pre 
vent  a  final  separation ;  and  another  address  to  the 
king  was  adopted,  beseeching  the  interposition  of 
his  royal  authority  to  afford  relief  from  their  afflict 
ing  fears  and  jealousies,  and  restore  harmony  by 
the  adoption  of  such  measures  as  would  effect  a 
permanent  reconciliation.  This  petition,  signed  by 
John  Hancock,  was  presented  in  Parliament  on  the 
7th  of  December,  and  gave  rise  to  several  motions 
for  pacification,  all  of  which  were  rejected. 

The  military  operations  of  the  autumn  were  chief 
ly  confined  to  the  expedition  against  Canada.  Lord 
Dunmore,  it  is  true,  had  given  several  additional  im 
pulses  to  the  revolutionary  spirit  in  Virginia  by  the 
manner  of  his  opposition,  and  the  enemy  had  still 
farther  exasperated  the  people  of  New-England  by 
burning  the  town  of  Falmouth,  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Massachusetts.  Having  timely  notice,  the 
people  fled  from  the  town,  which  was  furiously 
bombarded,  and  139  dwelling-houses  and  278  ware 
houses  were  burned.  The  invasion  of  Canada  by 
Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery  has  already 
been  incidentally  mentioned.  General  Schuyler  had 
issued  a  suitable  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Canada  on  entering  that  territory,  but  he  was  obli 
ged  by  ill  health  to  relinquish  the  command  to  Gen 
eral  Montgomery.  St.  John's  surrendered  on  the  3d 
of  November ;  but,  while  the  siege  was  pending, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  107 

Colonul  Ethan  Allen,  with  thirty-eight  of  hiv  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  was  captured,  and  sent  to  England 
in  irons.  Allen  deserved  his  fate,  however,  for  his 
rashness  and  disobedience  of  orders.  Still,  he  was 
veiy  near  capturing  Montreal  with  the  small  party 
he  had  led  in  advance,  as  was  subsequently  admitted 
by  one  of  the  British  officers. 

The  fort  at  Chamblee  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mont 
gomery,  together  with  a  large  quantity  of  military 
stores,  which  were  of  great  use  ;  among  them  were 
three  tons  of  powder.  Montreal  was  next  taken  by 
the  provincials,  General  Carleton  escaping  in  a  boat 
with  muffled  oars  to  Three  Rivers,  whence  he  hast 
ened  to  Quebec.  Montgomery,  with  his  little  army, 
was  swift  to  follow  him  thither,  where  his  arrival 
had  been  anticipated  by  Colonel  Arnold,  with  up 
ward  of  700  New-England  infantry  and  riflemen, 
with  whom  he  had  performed  the  incredible  service 
of  traversing  the  unexplored  forest  from  the  Ken- 
nebec  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chaudiere.  Uniting  the 
forces  of  Arnold  with  his  own,  Montgomery  laid 
siege  to  Quebec  on  the  1st  of  December.  His  artil 
lery,  however,  was  too  light  to  make  any  impres 
sion  upon  its  walls,  and  it  was  at  length  determined, 
if  possible,  to  carry  the  town  by  a  combined  assault 
from  two  directions,  one  division  to  be  led  by  Mont 
gomery,  and  the  other  by  Arnold.  The  enterprise 
was  undertaken  on  the  31st  of  December,  and  the 
year  closed  by  the  repulse  of  both  divisions  and  the 
fall  of  Montgomery. 

The  success  which  had  marked  the  American 
arms  in  the  early  part  of  the  Canadian  campaign, 
made  a  strong  impression  upon  the  Caughnawaga 
Indians.  The  Canadians,  generally,  were  exceed 
ingly  averse  to  engaging  in  the  unnatural  contest, 
and  were  strongly  inclined  to  favour  the  cause  of 
the  colonies ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  descent  of 
Brant  and  the  Mohawks  to  Montreal,  and  the  solici 
tations  of  Governor  Carleton,  the  Caughnawagas 


108  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sent  a  deputation  to  General  Washington,  at  Cam 
bridge,  as  early  as  the  month  of  August,  avowing 
their  readiness  to  assist  the  Americans  in  the  event 
of  an  expedition  into  Canada.  This  assurance  was 
fulfilled.  In  a  letter  from  Sir  Guy  Carleton  to  Gen 
eral  Gage,  written  in  August,  which  was  intercept 
ed,  the  Canadian  governor  said,  "  Many  of  the  In 
dians  have  gone  over  to  them  (the  Americans),  and 
large  numbers  of  the  Canadians  are  with  them." 
"  I  had  hopes  of  holding  out  for  this  year,  though  I 
seem  abandoned  by  all  the  world,  had  the  savages 
remained  firm.  I  cannot  blame  these  poor  people 
for  securing  themselves,  as  they  see  multitudes  of 
the  enemy  at  hand,  and  no  succour  from  any  part, 
though  it  is  now  four  months  since  their  operations 
against  us  first  began."  The  subsequent  reverses 
of  the  Americans,  however,  changed  the  masters 
of  those  Indians,  and  they  were,  ere  long,  found  war 
ring  in  the  ranks  of  the  crown. 

But  all  the  Indians  did  not  join  the  British  stand 
ard.  Notwithstanding  that  the  Delawares  had  been 
engaged  in  the  Cresap  war  the  year  before,  they 
refused  the  solicitations  of  the  British  emissaries 
and  the  Senecas  to  take  up  the  hatchet  with  them 
in  this  contest.  A  meeting  of  Indians  was  held  in 
Pittsburg  to  deliberate  upon  the  question,  at  which 
a  select  deputation  of  the  Senecas  attended.  Cap 
tain  White  Eyes,  a  sensible  and  spirited  warrior  of 
the  Lenape,  boldly  declared  that  he  would  not  em 
bark  in  a  war  to  destroy  a  people  born  on  the  same 
soil  with  himself.  The  Americans,  he  said,  were 
his  friends  and  brothers,  and  no  nation  should  dic 
tate  t }  him  or  his  tribe  the  course  they  should  pur 
sue. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  109 


CHAPTER  VL 

THE  dawn  of  the  New  Year  was  lighted  up  by  the 
conflagration  of  Norfolk,  by  order  of  Lord  Dunmore, 
the  royal  governor  of  Virginia.  His  lordship  had 
previously  retired  with  his  adherents  to  the  fleet ; 
and  this  act  of  Vandalism  was  directed  by  way  of 
retaliating  upon  the  Whigs  of  that  borough  for  hav 
ing  refused  supplies  to  the  Liverpool  man-of-war. 
The  people  themselves  destroyed  the  buildings  near 
est  the  water,  in  order  to  deprive  the  ships  even  of 
those  sources  of  supply.  After  cruising  for  a  time 
on  the  coast  of  Virginia,  and  being  everywhere  re 
pulsed — some  of  h<is  ships  having  been  driven  on 
shore,  and  their  crews  captured  and  imprisoned  by 
the  colonists — his  lordship  was  obliged  to  destroy 
those  of  his  vessels  which  were  not  seaworthy,  and 
seek  refuge  himself  in  Florida  and  the  West  Indies. 
Another  incident  adverse  to  the  royal  arms  was  the 
defeat,  by  the  provincials  under  General  Moore,  of 
General  M'Donald  (commissioned  by  Governor  Mar 
tin),  in  his  attempts  to  bring  North  Carolina  to  obe 
dience.  The  battle  resulting  in  this  defeat  was  gal 
lantly  fought  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  by  Colonels 
Caswell  and  Lillington,  commanding  about  1000 
minute-men  and  militia,  A  large  quantity  of  arms 
tell  into  the  hands  of  the  provincials,  and  the  defeat, 
equally  unexpected  and  decisive,  greatly  depressed 
the  spirits  of  the  Loyalists  in  that  quarter. 

Resuming  the  history  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  :  al 
though  the  autumn  of  the  preceding  year  had  passed 
quietly  away  in  that  region,  no  small  degree  of 
uneasiness  was  created,  early  in  the  winter,  by  the 
suspicious  conduct  of  Sir  John  Johnson ;  heightened, 
as  will  appear  in  the  sequel,  by  false  representations 


HO  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sent  forth  by  u  man  who,  in  the  end,  proved  to  be 
an  impostor.  Such  were  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
moreover,  and  the  jealousies  mutually  entertained, 
that  it  is  more  than  probable  the  measures  of  Sir 
John  were  concerted  in  consequence  of  apprehen 
sions  honestly  indulged,  and  in  all  likelihood  awa 
kened  by  the  same  or  a  kindred  imposture.  At  all 
events,  Sir  John  was  actively  engaged  in  defensive 
preparations,  with  a  view,  as  it  was  believed,  of 
throwing  up  fortifications  around  the  baronial  hall 
His  adherents,  as  we  have  seen,  were  numerous, 
particularly  among  the  Scotch  Highlanders,  by  sev 
eral  hundreds  of  whom  he  was  surrounded ;  and  re 
ports  became  rife,  that,  in  addition  to  these,  the  works 
he  was  erecting  were  to  be  garrisoned  by  three  hun 
dred  Indians,  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  settlements 
as  opportunities  might  occur. 

It  was  undoubtedly  true  that  the  Tories  of  that 
region  were  preparing  actively  to  espouse  the  royal 
cause,  and  enlistments  for  the  king's  service,  it  is 
very  likely,  were  secretly  making.  Information  to 
this  effect  was  laid  before  Congress  in  December. 
It  was  also  declared,  by  a  man  named  Connell,  that 
a  considerable  quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition, 
and  other  warlike  articles,  had  been  collected  and 
concealed  by  the  Tories  at  Johnstown,  to  be  used 
when  the  proper  moment  for  action  arrived.  The 
facts  disclosed  by  Connell  were  supported  by  his 
deposition  ;  whereupon  a  resolution  was  adopted  by 
Congress,  directing  General  Schuyler  to  be  informed 
of  these  circumstances,  and  requesting  him  to  adopt 
the  most  speedy  and  effectual  measures  for  securing 
the  said  arms  and  military  stores  ;  for  disarming  the 
Loyalists,  apprehending  their  leaders,  and  taking 
such  measures  in  general  as  might  be  judged  neces 
sary  to  ensure  the  tranquillity  of  the  frontier.*  This 

*  The  sum  of  forty  dollars  was  appropriated  by  Congress  for  this  ob 
ject,  and  the  special  committee  having  the  subject  in  charge  were 
directed  to  count  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  treasury,  and  forward  the 
same  to  General  Schuvler  under  a  guard  ! 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  HI 

resolution  was  received  by  General  Schuyler  at  Al 
bany  early  in  January,  and  no  time  was  lost  in  con 
certing  measures  for  its  execution.  General  Schuy 
ler  at  first  supposed  that  a  force  of  three  hundred 
men,  with  the  assistance  they  would  be  certain  to 
receive  from  the  Whigs  of  Tryon  county,  would  be 
amply  sufficient.  It  was  determined,  however,  in 
order  to  produce  a  deeper  effect  upon  the  Loyalists 
against  whom  they  were  proceeding,  to  march  with 
a  force  of  seven  hundred  men. 

Nevertheless,  in  order  to  preserve  the  good-will 
of  the  Indians  of  the  Lower  Mohawk  Castle,*  and 
guard  against  taking  them  by  surprise  or  giving 
them  unnecessary  alarm,  Mr.  Bleecker,  the  Indian 
interpreter,  residing  at  Albany,  was  despatched  to 
the  castle  on  the  15th,  charged  with  a  belt  and  a 
friendly  message  to  the  Indians. 

General  Schuyler,  however,  did  not  wait  for  the 
return  of  his  messenger  from  the  Indians,  but  pro 
ceeded  to  Schenectady  on  the  16th,  at  the  head  of  a 
strong  division  of  militia,  and  accompanied  by  Gen 
eral  Ten  Broeck,  Colonel  Varick,  and  several  other 
officers.  The  militia  turned  out  with  great  alacrity, 
notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  weather  and  the 
badness  of  the  roads.  On  the  evening  of  his  arrival 
at  Schenectady,  General  Schuyler  was  met  by  a 
deputation  of  the  Mohawks,  headed  by  Little  Abra 
ham,  who,  in  a  very  haughty  tone,  addressed  him  as 
follows  : 

"  BROTHERS — You  lately  sent  to  our  place  four 
men,  who  arrived  to  us  last  Sunday  morning.  They 
told  us  they  were  sent  up  to  us  by  you  to  inform  us 
of  those  military  preparations  which  were  making 
down  in  this  quarter.  By  them  you  let  us  know 
that  you  thought  it  not  prudent  to  send  armed  men 
among  us  without  previously  notifying  us.  Like 
wise,  brothers,  your  messengers  informed  us  of  the 

*  The  Mohawks  of  the  Lower  Castle,  with  Little  Abraham,  had  not 
ceen  drawn  away  by  Thayendanegea  and  Guy  Johnson. 


112  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

reasons  of  your  coming  in  this  manner.  You  in 
formed  us  that  you  had  heard  that  there  were  a 
number  of  men  imbodied  at  Sir  John's  about  Johns 
town.  You  told  us  likewise,  that,  as  soon  as  they 
had  completed  their  body,  they  intended  to  destroy 
the  settlements  up  and  down  the  river. 

"  BROTHERS — You  told  us  that  you  came  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  the  report,  which  might  be  done  by 
four  or  six  without  any  danger  in  making  the  inquiry. 
We  proposed  your  sending  up  six  persons  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  this  matter,  as  it  would  be  a  shame 
to  interrupt  them,  as  no  person  would  be  so  mean 
to  give  them  any  obstruction.  As  for  sending  your 
belt  forward,  we  thought  to  retain  it  until  we  had 
heard  whether  our  proposal  had  been  accepted  or  no. 
And  we  desire  that  you  would  consider  of  this  mat 
ter,  and  keep  your  troops  at  home,  and  let  us  know 
your  mind ;  and  if,  after  considering  of  our  proposals, 
you  do  not  agree  to  them,  that  you  will  then  let  us 
know  what  you  intend  to  do. 

"  BROTHERS — We  expected  an  answer  to  our  pro 
posals,  but  none  arrived  until  we  were  informed  by 
a  woman  who  returned  from  Albany  that  those 
preparations  were  actually  making,  and  that  troops 
were  actually  marching  in  the  country.  We  come, 
brothers,  to  beg  of  you  that  you  take  good  care  and 
prudence  of  what  you  are  going  about.  We  beg  of 
you,  brothers,  to  remember  the  engagement  which 
was  made  with  the  Twelve  United  Colonies  at  our 
interview  last  summer,  as  we  then  engaged  to  open 
the  path  of  peace,  and  to  keep  it  undenled  from  blood. 
At  the  same  time,  something  of  a  different  nature 
made  its  appearance.  You  assured  us,  brothers, 
that  if  any  were  found  in  our  neighbourhood  inimi 
cal  to  us,  you  would  treat  them  as  enemies.  The 
Six  Nations  then  supposed  that  the  son  of  Sir  Will 
iam  was  pointed  at  by  that  expression.  We  then 
desired  particularly  that  he  might  not  be  injured,  as 
it  was  not  in  his  power  to  injure  the  cause,  and  that, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  113 

therefore,  he  might  not  be  molested.  The  Six  Na 
tions  then  said  they  would  not  concern  themselves 
with  your  operations  in  other  parts,  but  particularly 
desired  that  this  path  might  be  free  from  blood. 
And  now,  brothers,  we  repeat  it  again:  we  beg  of 
you  to  take  good  care  and  not  to  spill  any  blood  in 
this  path ;  and  the  more  especially,  brothers,  as  it  is 
but  of  this  day  that  the  Six  Nations  had  so  agreeable 
an  interview  with  the  colonies ;  and  our  chiefs  are 
now  hunting  in  the  woods,  and  not  dreaming  that 
there  is  any  prospect  that  this  path  is  or  will  be  de 
filed  with  blood. 

"  BROTHERS,  ATTEND  !  It  was  your  request,  and  a 
matter  agreed  upon  by  the  twelve  United  Colonies, 
that  we  should  mind  nothing  but  peace ;  therefore, 
brothers,  as  we  mean  to  observe  that  agreement,  we 
have  expressed  ourselves  as  above,  and  as  brothers : 
we  mind  nothing  but  peace.  We  look  upon  our 
selves  as  mediators  between  the  two  parties  ;  there 
fore,  brothers,  as  your  messengers  declared  that  you 
would  not  be  the  aggressors,  we  informed  Sir  John 
of  this,  and  earnestly  begged  of  him  not  to  be  the 
aggressor,  or  the  means  of  spilling  blood  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  assured  him,  that  if  we  found  that  he 
should  be  the  aggressor,  we  would  not  pay  any  far 
ther  attention  to  him  ;  and  likewise  told  him,  that  if 
our  brothers  of  the  United  Colonies  were  the  aggres 
sors,  we  should  treat  them  in  the  same  manner. 
This  is  what  we  told  Sir  John,  as  we  look  upon  our 
selves  to  be  the  mediators  between  both  parties,  and, 
as  we  have  said  before,  desired  him  not  to  be  the 
aggressor.  To  which  Sir  John  replied,  that  we  knew 
his  disposition  very  well,  and  that  he  had  no  mind 
to  be  the  aggressor.  He  assured  us  that  he  would 
not  be  the  aggressor,  but  if  the  people  came  up  to 
take  away  his  life,  he  would  do  as  well  as  he  could, 
as  the  law  of  nature  justified  every  person  to  stand 
in  his  own  defence. 

"  According  to  the  news  we  have  heard,  it  is  as 


114  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

though  Sir  John  would  shut  up  the  path  of  peace  in 
that  quarter  ;  but  it  is  impossible  he  should  do  it,  as 
he  had  but  a  mere  handful  of  friends  ;  but,  brothers, 
if  this  company,  who  are  now  passing  by,  should  go 
up,  and  anything  bad  should  happen,  we  shall  look 
on  you  as  shutting  up  the  path. 

"  It  has  been  represented  to  you,  brothers,  that  it 
seems  that  Sir  John  is  making  military  prepara 
tions,  and  that  he  is  making  a  fort  around  his  house  , 
but,  brothers,  as  we  live  so  near  him,  we  should  cer 
tainly  know  it  if  anything  of  that  nature  should  be 
done,  especially  as  we  go  there  so  frequently  on  ac 
count  of  our  father,  the  minister,  who  sometimes 
Derforms  divine  service  at  that  place.  We  have 
never  seen  any  hostile  preparations  made  there  ; 
there  is  no  cannon,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  and  all 
things  remain  in  the  same  situation  it  was  in  the 
lifetime  of  Sir  William. 

"  We  have  declared  to  you,  brothers,  that  we 
would  not  deceive,  and  that  we  mean  to  declare  our 
minds  to  you  openly  and  freely.  We,  the  sachems, 
have  all  along  inculcated  to  the  warriors  sentiments 
of  peace,  and  they  have  hitherto  been  obedient  to 
us,  though  there  have  been  frequent  rumours  that 
they  should  be  disturbed;  yet  we  have,  hitherto, 
been  able  to  calm  their  minds.  But  now,  brothers, 
so  large  a  party  coming  alarms  the  minds  of  our 
warriors.  They  are  determined,  brothers,  to  go 
and  be  present  at  your  interview  with  Sir  John,  and 
'  determined  to  see  and  hear  everything  that  should 
be  there  transacted  ;  and,  if  it  shall  then  appear  that 
this  party  shall  push  matters  to  extremes,  we  then 
cannot  be  accountable  for  anything  that  may  hap 
pen.  But  as  for  us,  brothers,  the  counsellors  are 
fully  determined  ever  to  persevere  in  the  path  of 
peace. 

"  BROTHERS,  ATTEND  !  Though  I  have  finished  what 
I  had  purposed  to  say,  yet  I  will  add  one  thing  more. 
When  the  news  of  your  approach  arrived  at  our 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  115 

town,  it  caused  great  confusion :  some  were  ready 
to  take  to  their  arms,  observing  that  those  reports 
respecting  the  unfriendly  disposition  of  the  colonies 
were  now  verified.  I  begged  of  them,  brothers,  to 
possess  their  minds  in  peace  for  a  few  days.  I  told 
them  that  I  myself  would  go  to  Albany,  and  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  the  matter  ;  I  was  so  conscious  of 
my  own  innocency,  that  no  hostile  appearance  could 
deter  me,  however  formidable.  I  therefore  desired 
them  to  sit  still  until  my  return,  which  might  be  in 
two  days,  if  I  went  to  Albany.  This,  brothers,  is 
the  present  situation  of  our  people.  They  are  wait 
ing  to  see  what  news  I  bring. 

"BROTHERS — When  I  made  this  request  to  the 
warriors,  that  they  should  sit  still  till  my  return, 
they  told  me  that  they  would,  which  they  are  now 
in  expectation  of,  and  will  do  nothing  till  I  get  back. 
But,  brothers,  after  my  return  I  will  repeat  to  them 
the  speech  you  will  now  make  to  me  ;  and  if  any  of 
our  people  should  still  persist  to  be  present  at  your 
interview  with  Sir  John,  we  hope,  brethren,  you  will 
not  think  hard  of  us  as  counsellors,  as  it  is  not  in 
our  power  to  rule  them  as  we  please.  If  they  should 
go,  and  anything  evil  should  happen,  we  beg  to  know, 
brothers,  what  treatment  we  may  expect  who  remain  at 
home  in  peace. 

"  BROTHERS — This  is  all  we  have  to  say.  This  is 
the  business  which  has  brought  us  down,  and  we 
now  expect  an  answer  to  carry  home  to  our  people." 

General  Schuyler  made  a  reply,  as  long  as  the 
speech  of  Little  Abraham,  touching  on  all  the  points 
adverted  to  by  the  latter,  explaining  and  enforcing 
the  necessity  of  the  movement  in  progress,  reitera 
ting  assurances  of  none  but  friendly  purposes  to 
wards  the  Indians,  assenting  to  their  presence  at 
the  desired  interview  with  Sir  John  Johnson,  ex 
horting  them  to  peace,  but  warning  them  against 
the  consequences  of  a  violation,  by  any  of  their 


116  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

warriors,  of  the  agreement  to  remain  neutral  which 
had  been  entered  into  at  Albany. 

Little  Abraham  responded  briefly,  expressing  his 
satisfaction,  and  that  of  his  people,  at  what  they  had 
heard,  and  promising  the  best  efforts  of  the  Indians 
to  maintain  peace  uninterrupted. 

General  Schuyler  assured  them  again  of  his  pa 
cific  intentions,  and  that  nothing  unpleasant  should 
happen  to  them.  He  also  informed  them,  that  if 
they  desired  to  attend  the  expedition  to  Johnstown, 
or  to  be  present  at  the  intended  interview  with  Sir 
John  as  mediators,  they  should  be  protected  in  that 
character.  With  this  understanding,  they  took  their 
departure  the  same  night.  A  letter,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  copy,  was  at  the  same  time  despatch 
ed  to  Sir  John  Johnson  : 

GENERAL  SCHUYLER  TO  SIR  JOHN  JOHNSON. 

"  Schenectady,  January  16,  1776. 
"  SIR, 

"  Information  having  been  received  that  designs 
of  the  most  dangerous  tendency  to  the  rights,  liber 
ties,  property,  and  even  lives  of  those  of  his  majes 
ty's  faithful  subjects  in  America  who  are  opposed 
to  the  unconstitutional  measures  of  his  ministry, 
have  been  formed  in  a  part  of  the  county  of  Tryon, 
I  am  ordered  to  march  a  body  of  men  into  that  coun 
ty  to  carry  into  execution  certain  resolutions  of  my 
superiors,  and  to  contravene  those  dangerous  de 
signs. 

"  Influenced,  sir,  by  motives  of  humanity,  I  wish  to 
comply  with  my  orders  in  a  manner  the  most  peace 
able,  that  no  blood  may  be  shed.  I  therefore  re 
quest  that  you  will  please  to  meet  me  to-morrow, 
at  any  place  on  my  way  to  Johnstown,  to  which  I 
propose  then  to  march.  For  which  purpose,  I  do 
hereby  give  you  my  word  of  honour,  that  you,  and 
such  persons  as  you  may  choose  should  attend  you, 
shall  pass  safe  and  unmolested  to  the  place  where 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  117 

you  may  meet  me,  and  from  thence  back  to  the 
place  of  your  abode. 

"  Rutgers  Bleecker  and  Henry  Glen,  Esqrs.,  are 
the  bearers  hereof,  gentlemen  who  are  entitled  to 
your  best  attention,  which,  I  dare  say,  they  will  ex 
perience,  and  by  whom  I  expect  you  will  favour  me 
with  an  answer  to  this  letter. 

"  You  will  please  to  assure  Lady  Johnson,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  result  of  what  is  now  in  agita 
tion,  she  may  rest  perfectly  satisfied  that  no  indig 
nity  will  be  offered  her. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"  PH.    SCHUYLER. 

"  To  Sir  John  Johnson,  Baronet." 

General  Schuyler  resumed  his  march  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  his  forces  constantly  increas 
ing,  until,  before  nightfall,  they  numbered  upward 
of  three  thousand.  Having  proceeded  about  sixteen 
miles  from  Schenectady,  the  expedition  was  met  by 
Sir  John,  attended  by  several  of  his  leading  friends 
among  the  Scotchmen,  and  two  or  three  others. 
The  result  of  the  interview  was  the  proffer,  by  Gen 
eral  Schuyler,  of  the  following  terms  to  Sir  John 
and  his  retainers : 

"  That  Sir  John  should  give  up  all  cannon,  arms, 
and  military  stores  within  his  possession  or  con 
trol,  whether  belonging  to  the  crown,  or  private 
property  ;  that  he  should  remain  quietly  on  his  pa 
role  of  honour,  at  such  place  of  residence  as  should 
be  assigned  to  him  by  the  Continental  Congress  ; 
that  the  Scotch  inhabitants  of  the  county  should 
give  up  their  arms,^and  promise  not  to  take  any 
part  in  the  approaching  contest,  giving  hostages  for 
the  fulfilment  of  such  promise  ;  that  such  other  in 
habitants  of  the  county  as  had  avowed  themselves 
hostile  to  the  measures  of  the  United  Colonies  should 
do  the  same  ;  and,  finally,  that  all  articles  belonging 
to  the  crown,  and  intended  as  presents  to  the  In 


118  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

dians,  should  be  given  up  for  distribution,  under  the 
direction  of  General  Schuyler." 

On  these  conditions,  the  general  promised  that 
Sir  John  Johnson  and  his  adherents  should  not  be 
molested,  but  protected  in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of 
their  property  ;  and  that,  at  the  close  of  the  contest, 
the  surrendered  arms,  &c.,  being  private  property, 
should  be  restored  or  paid  for. 

In  the  course  of  the  interview,  Sir  John  assured 
General  Schuyler  that  the  Indians  would  support 
him,  and  that  numbers  of  them  were  already  at 
Johnson  Hall  for  that  purpose.  He  was  assured,  in 
return,  that  if  the  proffered  terms  were  not  acceded 
to,  force  would  be  opposed  to  force,  without  distinc 
tion  of  persons,  and  that  the  consequences  of  resist 
ance  would  be  of  the  most  serious  description.  In 
conclusion,  Sir  John  begged  until  the  evening  of  the 
following  day  to  consider  of  the  propositions,  whicl. 
request  was  granted,  and  the  baronet  took  his  leave 

In  about  an  hour  after  his  departure,  Abraham 
and  another  of  the  Mohawks,  made  their  appearance 
at  General  Schuyler's  quarters.  On  being  informec 
of  what  Sir  John  had  said  respecting  the  Indians  be 
ing  in  arms  at  the  Hall  for  his  defence,  Abrahan 
pronounced  the  story  untrue,  and  repeated  his  assu 
rances  that  the  Mohawks  would  interfere  in  no  oth 
er  way  than  as  mediators.  The  general  replied, 
that  he  hoped  they  would  not ;  but  he  at  the  same 
time  assured  them,  with  emphasis,  that  if  they 
should  do  so,  he  should  not  hesitate  a  moment  in 
destroying  every  one  who  opposed  him  in  arms. 

On  the  following  day  (the  18th),  General  Schuy 
ler  moved  forward  to  Caughnawaga,  four  miles  from 
Johnstown,  where  he  was  joined  by  Colonel  Herki- 
mer  and  the  Tryon  county  militia.  At  about  6 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Sir  John's  answer  to  the 
terms  proposed  to  him  was  received,  as  follows  : 

"  That  Sir  John  Johnson  and  the  rest  of  the  gentle 
men  expect  that  all  such  arms,  of  every  kind,  as  are 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  119 

their  own  property,  may  remain  in  their  possession  ; 
all  the  other  arms  shall  be  delivered  up  to  such  per 
son  01  persons  as  may  be  appointed  for  that  pur 
pose  ;  as  to  military  stores  belonging  to  the  crown, 
Sir  John  has  not  any. 

"  Sir  John  expects  that  he  will  not  be  confined  to 
any  certain  county,  but  be  at  liberty  to  go  where  he 
pleases. 

"The  Scotch  inhabitants  will  deliver  up  their 
arms,  of  what  kind  soever  they  may  be  ;  and  they 
will  each  solemnly  promise  that  they  will  not,  at 
any  time  hereafter,  during  the  continuance  of  this 
unhappy  contest,  take  up  arms  without  the  permis 
sion  of  the  Continental  Congress,  or  of  their  gener 
al  officers.  Hostages  they  are  not  in  a  capacity  to 
give,  no  one  man  having  command  over  another, 
or  power  sufficient  to  deliver  such.  Therefore,  this 
part  of  the  article  to  be  passed  over,  or  the  whole 
included — women  and  children  to  be  required,  being 
a  requisition  so  inhuman  as,  we  hope,  the  general 
will  dispense  with. 

"  Sir  John  has  not  any  blankets,  strouds,  or  other 
presents  intended  for  the  Indians." 

These  propositions  were  rejected  by  General 
Schuyler  as  altogether  unsatisfactory,  and  four 
hours  were  given  by  him  for  reconsideration  ;  at 
the  expiration  of  which,  he  wrote  to  Sir  John,  no 
proposals  would  be  received,  and  he  should  go  on 
to  obey  his  orders. 

Immediately  after  the  latter  had  been  despatched 
to  the  Hall,  the  sachems  of  the  Lower  Castle,  with 
all  their  warriors  and  several  from  the  Upper  Cas 
tle,  called  upon  General  Schuyler,  having  come  to 
his  quarters  directly  from  the  residence  of  the  bar 
onet.  They  informed  the  general  that  Sir  John  had 
related  to  them  the  substance  of  the  terms  of  sur 
render  that  had  been  proposed.  Sir  John,  they  said, 
had  declared  to  them  that  all  he  desired  was  pro 
tection  for  his  family  and  friends  from  insult  and 


120  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  outrages  of  riotous  people,  and  protested  that 
he  had  no  unfriendly  intentions  against  the  country. 
The  Indians,  therefore,  begged  the  general  to  accept 
the  terras  offered  by  Sir  John.  The  general  told 
the  chiefs  that  he  could  not  accept  of  those  terms, 
and  pointed  out  the  objections.  He  likewise  in 
formed  them  of  the  tenour  of  the  letter  he  had  just 
transmitted  to  the  Hall.  The  Indians  were  appa 
rently  contented  with  those  reasons  and  with  the 
course  adopted,  but  begged  that,  should  the  answer 
of  Sir  John  be  still  unsatisfactory,  the  general 
would  give  him  until  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  that 
they  might  have  time  to  go  and  "  shake  his  head," 
as  they  expressed  it,  "  and  bring  him  to  his  senses." 
They  likewise  begged,  as  an  additional  favour,  that 
General  Schuyler  would  not  remove  Sir  John  out 
of  the  country.  They  apologized  for  the  threats  of 
their  own  warriors,  alleging  that  they  were  attribu 
table  to  the  circumstance  of  their  not  being  present 
at  the  treaty  of  Albany,  and  repeated  the  assurance 
that  they  would  never  take  arms  against  the  colo 
nies.  In  reply,  General  Schuyler  complimented 
the  Indians  for  their  pacific  intentions,  and  inform 
ed  them  that  he  should  accede  to  their  request,  al 
though  the  conduct  of  Sir  John  had  been  so  censu 
rable  that  he  should  be  justified  in  holding  him  a 
close  prisoner.  His  reason  for  granting  the  request, 
the  general  told  them,  were  twofold  :  first,  to  show 
the  love  and  affection  of  the  Americans  for  the  In 
dians,  and  to  convince  them  that  they  could  ob 
tain,  by  asking  as  a  favour,  that  which  they  could 
not  obtain  by  demanding  as  a  right.  Secondly,  that 
by  leaving  Sir  John  among  them,  they  might,  by 
their  example  and  advice,  induce  him  to  alter  his 
conduct. 

The  extension  of  time  solicited  by  the  Indians 
proved  to  be  unnecessary,  the  answer  of  Sir  John, 
acceding  to  the  terms  proposed,  with  some  modifi 
cations,  being  received  at  the  hour  originally  desig- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  121 

nated ;  and  these  modifications,  somewhat  limited, 
being  assented  to  by  General  Schuyler,  the  latter 
on  the  same  day  marched  lo  Johnstown,  having  pre 
viously  detailed  several  detachments  of  his.  troops 
to  scour  the  country,  and  bring  in  the  disaffected  not 
comprehended  in  the  arrangements  with  the  baron 
et.  On  the  same  afternoon  Sir  John  delivered  up 
the  arms  and  ammunition  in  his  possession,  the  quan 
tity  of  both  being  much  smaller  than  was  expected. 
On  Saturday,  the  20th,  General  Schuyler  paraded  his 
troops  at  noon,  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  High 
landers,  who,  to  the  number  of  between  two  and  three 
hundred,  marched  to  the  front  and  grounded  their 
arms.  These  having  been  secured,  the  Scotchmen 
were  dismissed  with  an  exhortation  to  remain  peacea 
ble,  and  with  an  assurance  of  protection  if  they  did  so. 

The  general's  attention  was  next  directed  to  the 
discovery  and  capture  of  the  secret  depot  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  of  which  information  had  been  giv 
en  by  Connell.  Two  of  the  persons  named  in  his  af 
fidavit  were  taken,  but  they  denied,  most  unequivo 
cally,  all  knowledge  upon  the  subject.  Connell  was 
produced  to  confront  them  ;  but  they  still  persisted 
in  maintaining  their  innocence,  and  denounced  him 
as  a  perjured  villain.  He  was  then  sent  with  a 
number  of  officers  to  point  out  the  spot  where,  as 
he  alleged,  the  arms  were  concealed.  He  conduct 
ed  them  to  a  pond  of  water,  containing  a  small  isl 
and  or  mound  in  the  middle,  within  which  he  de 
clared  the  arms  were  buried.  The  snow  and  ice 
were  forthwith  removed,  and  the  mound  dug  down. 
Connell  had  particularly  described  the  manner  in 
which  the  arms  had  been  deposited  under  ground, 
but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  earth  had  not 
recently  been  disturbed,  if  ever ;  and  in  the  end  it 
was  ascertained,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  that  the 
fellow  was  a  base  impostor.  General  Schuyler  re 
turned  to  Caughnawaga  that  evening.  On  the  two 
following  days  upward  of  a  hundred  Tories  were 

VOL.  I.— K 


122  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

brought  in  from  different  parts  of  the  country.  Col 
onel  Herkimer  was  left  to  complete  the  disarming 
of  the  disaffected  and  receive  the  hostages,  and  the 
general,  with  his  miscellaneous  army,  marched  back 
to  Albany.  In  his  letters  to  Congress,  and  also  to 
General  Washington,  he  spoke  of  the  anxiety  and 
trouble  he  had  experienced  in  preventing  so  large  a 
body  of  men,  collected  on  the  sudden,  without  dis 
cipline,  and,  withal,  greatly  exasperated,  from  run 
ning  into  excesses.  In  these  efforts,  however,  he 
succeeded  much  better  than,  under  the  circumstan 
ces,  was  reasonably  to  have  been  anticipated.  Be 
fore  his  return,  Mr.  Dean,  the  Indian  interpreter, 
was  despatched  by  the  general  with  a  belt  and  a 
talk  to  the  Six  Nations,  which  has  not  been  pre 
served.  Thus  ended  the  expedition  to  Johnstown. 

General  Schuyler  transmitted  a  full  report  of  his 
proceedings  to  Congress,  by  whom  a  special  reso 
lution  was  passed  thanking  him  for   the  fidelity, 
prudence,  and  expedition  with  which  he  had  per 
formed  such  a  meritorious  service.     A  second  res 
olution  was  also  adopted,  so  curiously  constructed, 
and  containing  such  an  ingeniously-inserted  hint  to 
the  officers  and  militia-men  accompanying  General 
Schuyler  on  this  expedition,  as  to  render  it  worthy 
of  preservation.     It  was  in  the  words  following : 

"  Resolved^  That  the  cheerful  and  ready  assistance 
of  those  who  accompanied  General  Schuyler  in  his 
march  to  the  county  of  Tryon,  and  their  useful  ser 
vices  in  that  expedition,  discovered  such  a  patriotic 
spirit,  that  it  is  hoped  none  of  them  will  allow  their 
countrymen  to  entertain  a  suspicion  that  any  igno 
ble  motive  actuated  them,  by  requiring  a  pecuniary 
reward,  especially  when  they  were  employed  in  sup 
pressing  a  mischief  in  their  own  neighbourhood." 

The  resolutions  were  enclosed  to  General  Schuy 
ler  in  a  flattering  letter  from  President  Hancock, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  he  says  :  "  It  is  with 
great  pleasure  I  inform  you  that  the  prudence,  zeal, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  123 

and  temper  manifested  in  your  late  expedition,  met 
with  the  warmest  approbation  of  Congress." 

For  some  unexplained  reason,  Sir  John  Johnson 
did  not  observe  the  compact  of  neutrality,  nor  the 
obligations  of  his  parole.  Or.  if  he  kept  himself 
within  the  letter,  his  conduct  was  such  as  to  rea 
waken  the  suspicions  of  the  people,  and  was  con 
sidered  by  General  Schuyler  a  virtual  violation  of 
the  spirit  of  the  parole  he  had  given,  to  take  no  part 
against  the  colonies.  In  fact,  the  information  re 
ceived  by  General  Schuyler  convinced  him  that  Sir 
John  was  secretly  instigating  the  Indians  to  hostili 
ties,  and  was  thus  likely  to  produce  much  mischief 
on  the  frontiers.  To  prevent  such  a  calamity,  it 
was  thought  advisable  by  Schuyler  to  secure  the 
person  of  Sir  John,  and  once  more  to  quell  the  ri 
sing  spirit  of  disaffection  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Johnstown,  especially  among  the  Highlanders.  For 
this  purpose,  in  the  month  of  May  following  the 
events  already  narrated,  Colonel  Dayton,  with  a 
part  of  his  regiment  then  on  its  way  to  Canada, 
was  despatched  by  General  Schuyler  to  prosecute 
this  enterprise.  There  were,  however,  large  num 
bers  of  Loyalists  in  Albany,  with  whom  Sir  John 
was  then  and  subsequently  in  close  correspondence. 
It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  he  received  time 
ly  notice  of  these  preparations  for  his  second  arrest, 
in  anticipation  of  Dayton's  arrival.  Such  was  the 
fact ;  and,  hastily  collecting  a  large  number  of  his 
tenants  and  others,  disaffected  towards  the  cause  of 
the  colonists,  the  baronet  was  prepared  for  instant 
flight  on  the  approach  of  the  Continentals.  This 
purpose  was  successfully  executed.  Colonel  Day 
ton  arrived  at  Johnstown  in  the  evening,  whereup 
on  Sir  John  and  his  retainers  immediately  took  to 
the  woods  by  the  way  of  the  Sacandaga.*  Not 

*  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose  that  an  expedition,  led  by  the  Mo 
hawk  Indians,  was  sent  from  Montreal  on  purpose  to  bring  Sir  John 
away,  <«r  rescue  him  from  the  espionage  of  the  Americans.  In  one  of 


124  BORDER  WARS    OF    THE 

knowing  whether  his  royalist  friends  were  in  pos 
session  of  Lake  Champlain  or  not,  the  fugitives 
dared  not  venture  upon  that  route  to  Montreal ;  and 
Sir  John  was,  accordingly,  obliged  to  strike  deeper 
into  the  forests  between  the  headwaters  of  the  Hud 
son  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  Having  but  a  brief  pe 
riod  of  preparation  for  their  flight,  the  party  was  but 
ill  supplied  for  such  a  campaign.  Their  provisions 
were  soon  exhausted ;  their  feet  became  sore  from 
travelling ;  and  several  of  their  number  were  left, 
from  time  to  time,  in  the  wilderness,  to  be  picked  up 
and  brought  in  afterward  by  the  Indians  sent  out  for 
that  purpose. 

After  nineteen  days  of  severe  hardship,  the  bar 
onet  and  his  partisans  arrived  at  Montreal  in  a  piti 
able  condition,  having  encountered  all  of  suffering 
that  it  seemed  possible  for  man  to  endure.  Such 
was  the  precipitation  of  his  departure  from  the  pa 
rental  hall,  and  such  his  deficiency  of  the  means  of 
transportation,  that  an  iron  chest,  containing  the 
most  valuable  of  his  family  papers,  was  hastily  bu 
ried  in  the  garden.  The  family  Bible,  containing 
the  only  record  of  the  marriage  of  his  father  and 
mother,  and,  of  course,  the  only  written  evidence  of 
his  own  legitimacy,  was  also  left  behind.*  Such 
of  the  papers  as  were  found  were  examined  by  Col- 
Brant's  speeches,  delivered  long1  afterward,  when  rehearsing'  the  ex 
ploits  of  the  Mohawks  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  following  passage 
occurs  :  "  We  then  went  in  a  body  to  a  town  then  in  the  possession  of 
the  enemy,  and  rescued  Sir  John  Johnson,  bringing  him  fearlessly 
through  the  streets."  Brant,  at  the  time  of  this  rescue,  was  himself  in, 
England,  as  also  was  Guy  Johnson. 

*  After  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  Sir  John,  the  furniture  of 
the  hall  was  sold  by  auction  at  Fort  Hunter.  The  late  Lieutenarit-gov- 
ernor  of  New-York,  John  Taylor,  purchased  several  articles  of  the  furni 
ture,  and,  among  other  things,  the  Bible  mentioned  in  the  text.  Perceiv 
ing  that  it  contained  the  family  record,  which  might  be  of  great  value  to 
Sir  John,  Mr.  Taylor  wrote  a  civil  note  t<~  Sir  John,  offering  its  restora 
tion.  Some  time  afterward,  a  messenger  from  the  baronet  called  for 
the  Bible,  whose  conduct  was  so  rude  as  to  give  offence.  "  I  have  come 
for  Sir  William's  Bible,"  said  he,  '*  and  there  are  the  four  guineas  which 
it  cost."  The  Bible  was  delivered,  and  the  runner  was  asked  what  mes 
sage  Sir  John  had  sent.  The  reply  was,  "  Pay  four  guineas,  and  tak» 
the  book !" 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  125 

onel  Dayton,  in  compliance  with  his  orders  ;  "  and 
Lady  Johnson  was  removed  to  Albany,  where  she 
was  retained  as  a  kind  of  hostage  for  the  peaceable 
conduct  of  her  husband.  She  wrote  to  General 
Washington  complaining  of  this  detention,  and  ask 
ing  his  interference  for  her  release ;  but  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  left  the  matter  with  General  Schuy- 
1er  and  the  Albany  Committee."  Colonel  Dayton 
was  stationed  several  weeks  at  Johnstown  with  his 
troops,  and  for  the  time  secured  the  tranquillity  of 
the  country. 

Sir  John  was  immediately  commissioned  a  colonel 
in  the  British  service,  and  raised  a  command  of  two 
battalions,  composed  of  those  who  accompanied  him 
in  his  flight,  and  other  American  Loyalists  who 
subsequently  followed  their  example.  They  were 
called  the  Royal  Greens.  In  the  month  of  January 
following  he  found  his  way  into  New- York,  then  in 
possession  of  the  British  forces.  From  that  period 
he  became  not  only  one  of  the  most  active,  but  one 
of  the  bitterest  foes  of  his  owTn  countrymen  of  any 
who  were  engaged  in  that  contest,  and  repeatedly 
the  scourge  of  his  own  former  neighbours.  He  was 
unquestionably  a  Loyalist  from  principle,  else  he 
would  scarcely  have  hazarded,  as  he  did,  and  ulti 
mately  lost,  domains  larger  and  fairer  than  probably 
ever  belonged  to  a  single  proprietor  in  America, 
William  Penn  only  excepted.  But  the  immediate 
cause  of  his  breaking  his  pledge  of  honour  is  not 
known.  Unexplained  as  it  ever  has  been,  the  act 
has  always  been  regarded  as  a  stain  upon  the  bar 
onet's  character.  It  was  held  as  such  by  the  Pro 
vincial  Congress  of  New- York,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  annexed  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  by  that 
Dody  to  General  Washington  immediately  after  his 
flight :  "  We  apprehend  no  doubt  can  exist  whether 
the  affair  of  Sir  John  Johnson  is*  within  your  imme 
diate  cognizance.  He  held  a  commission  as  brig 
adier-general  of  the  militia,  and,  it  is  said,  another 


126  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

commission  as  major-general.  That  he  hath  shame 
fully  broken  his  parole  is  evident,  but  whether  it 
would  be  more  proper  to  have  him  returned  or  ex 
changed,  is  entirely  in  your  excellency's  prudence." 
His  estates  were,  of  course,  confiscated  by  thr 
Provincial  Congress  of  New- York,  and  in  due  timt 
sold  under  the  direction  of  the  committee  of  thai 
body  having  such  matters  in  charge. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  progress  of  events  renders  it  necessary  again 
to  introduce  the  Indian  hero  of  the  war  of  the  Rev 
olution  more  prominently  upon  the  stage  of  action. 
Thayendanegea  had  now  been  advanced  to  the  sit 
uation  of  principal  war-chief  of  the  confederacy,  an 
officer,  according  to  the  ancient  usages  of  the  Six 
Nations,  uniformly  taken  from  the  Mohawks. 

It  has  been  seen,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that 
Thayendanegea  had  accompanied  Guy  Johnson  from 
the  Mohawk  Valley,  first,  westwardly  to  Ontario, 
thence  back  to  Oswego,  and  thence  to  Montreal, 
where  his  services,  and  those  of  his  warriors,  were 
courted  by  Generals  Carleton  and  Haldimand,  and 
an  agreement  was  speedily  made  that  they  were  to 
take  up  the  hatchet  in  the  cause  of  the  king.  For 
the  prosecution  of  a  border  warfare  the  officers  of 
the  crown  could  scarcely  have  engaged  a  more  val 
uable  auxiliary.  Distinguished  alike  for  his  ad 
dress,  his  activity,  and  his  courage — possessing,  in 
point  of  stature  and  symmetry  of  person,  the  ad 
vantage  of  most  men  even  among  his  own  well- 
formed  race— tall,  erect,  and  majestic,  with  the  air 
and  mien  of  one  born  to  command — having,  as  it 
were,  been  a  man  of  war  from  his  boyhood — his 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  127 

name  was  a  tower  of  strength  among  the  warriors 
of  the  wilderness.  Still  more  extensive  was  his  in 
fluence  rendered  by  the  circumstance  that  he  had 
been  much  employed  in  the  civil  service  of  the  In 
dian  department,  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  by 
whom  he  was  often  deputed  upon  embassies  among 
the  tribes  of  the  confederacy,  and  to  those  yet  more 
distant,  upon  the  great  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  north 
west,  by  reason  of  which  his  knowledge  of  the 
whole  country  and  people  was  accurate  and  exten 
sive. 

Whether,  after  the  compact  with  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton,  the  chief  again  visited  the  Indian  country  of 
the  Six  Nations  during  the  summer  of  1775,  is  un 
known.  Probably  not ;  since,  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  or  early  in  the  following  winter,  he  embarked 
on  his  first  visit  to  England.  What  was  the  precise 
object  of  this  visit  does  not  appear.  It  is  very  prob 
able,  however,  that,  notwithstanding  the  agreement 
so  hastily  formed  at  Montreal,  the  sagacious  chief 
tain  may  have  judged  it  prudent  to  pause  before 
committing  himself  too  far  by  overt  acts  of  hostility 
against  the  colonies.  The  Oneidas  were  evidently 
inclining  to  espouse  the  colonial  side  of  the  contro 
versy,  if  any  ;  the  River  Indians  had  already  ranged 
themselves-on  the  same  side  ;  Captain  White-Eyes, 
of  the  Delawares,  had  determined  upon  neutrality ; 
and  the  Caughnawagas,  or,  at  least,  some  of  their 
leading  chiefs,  were  in  the  camp  with  Washington. 
To  all  which  may  be  added  the  fact,  that  at  that 
time  the  American  arms  were  carrying  everything 
before  them  in  Canada.  These  circumstances  were 
certainly  enough  to  make  the  chieftain  hesitate  as 
to  the  course  dictated  by  true  wisdom.  His  predi 
lections,  doubtless,  from  the  first,  inclined  him  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  king.  Nay,  he  maintained 
through  life,  that  the  ancient  covenants  of  his  peo 
ple  rendered  it  obligatory  upon  him  so  to  do.  In 
addition  to  which  were  the  strong  ties  of  blood,  of 


128  BORDER   WARS    OF    THE 

association,  and  of  gratitude,  by  which  he  was 
bound  to  the  family  and  the  interests  of  the  John 
sons.  Still,  the  brilliant  successes  with  which  the 
Americans  had  opened  the  campaign  in  Canada  pre 
sented  another  view  of  the  case,  which  was  certain 
ly  entitled  to  grave  consideration.  .  Thus  situated, 
the  chief  may  have  found  his  position  so  embarrass 
ing  as  to  induce  him  to  visit  the  parent  country,  and 
go  himself  into  the  presence  of  "  THE  GREAT  KING," 
as  the  British  monarch  was  styled  by  the  Indians,  be 
fore  he  should  finally  determine  whether  actually  to 
take  the  field  or  not.  By  making  the  voyage,  he 
would  have  the  additional  advantage  of  studying  the 
resources  and  the  power  of  the  parent  country,  and 
would  thereby  be  the  better  able  to  determine  for 
himself  whether  success  was  likely  to  crown  his 
majesty's  arms  in  the  end,  or  whether,  by  an  over 
scrupulous  observance  of  an  ancient  stipulation  of 
alliance,  he  should  not,  with  his  people,  be  rushing 
upon  certain  destruction. 

But  whether  he  thus  reasoned  or  not,  it  is  certain 
that  he  sailed  for  England  towards  the  close  of  the 
year  1775,  and  reached  London  early  in  1776,  ac 
companied  by  Captain  Tice,  an  officer  of  English 
extraction,  born  in  America,  who  had  resided  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Mohawk  nation. . 

Only  a  very  brief  account  of  this,  his  first  visit  to 
England,  has  been  found.  It  has  always  been  said, 
however,  that  he  was  not  only  well  received,  but 
that  his  society  was  courted  by  gentlemen  of  rank 
and  station— statesmen,  scholars,  and  divines.  He 
had  little  of  the  savage  ferocity  of  his  people  in  his 
countenance ;  and  when,  as  he  ordinarily  did,  he 
wore  the  European  dress,  there  was  nothing  besides 
his  colour  to  mark  wherein  he  differed  from  other 
men  Upon  his  first  arrival  in  the  British  capital, 
he  was  conducted  to  the  inn  called  "  The  Swan  with 
two  Necks."  Other  lodgings  were  soon  provided  for 
him  more  suitable  to  his  rank  as  an  Indian  king  ;  but 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  129 

he  said  the  people  of  the  inn  had  treated  him  with 
so  much  kindness  and  civility,  that  he  preferred  re 
maining  there  during  his  stay  in  London ;  and  he 
accordingly  did  so. 

Although  he  was  dressed  in  the  European  habit, 
he  was  not  unprovided  with  a  splendid  costume  af 
ter  the  manner  of  his  own  nation,  in  which  he  ap 
peared  at  court,  and  upon  visits  of  state  and  cere 
mony.  James  Boswell  was  at  that  time  in  his  glo 
ry,  and  an  intimacy  appears  to  have  been  contracted 
between  him  and  the  Mohawk  chief,  since  the  latter 
sat  for  his  picture  at  the  request  of  this  most  inter 
esting  of  egotists.  He  also  sat,  during  the  same 
visit,  to  Romney,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  art 
ists  of  his  day,  for  the  Earl  of  Warwick.  He  was, 
of  course,  painted  in  his  native  dress,  and  the  pic 
ture  was  greatly  prized.  The  tomahawk  worn  by 
him  in  London  was  a  very  beautiful  article,  pol 
ished  to  the  highest  degree ;  upon  which  was  en 
graved  the  first  letter  of  his  Christian  name  with 
his  Mohawk  appellation,  thus  :  "/.  Thayendanegea" 

He  did  not  remain  in  England  many  months,  but, 
in  company  with  Captain  Tice,  sailed  on  his  return 
towards  the  close  of  March  or  early  in  April,  and 
arrived  on  the  coast  near  the  harbour  of  New- York, 
after  a  very  short  passage.  Having  fully  deter 
mined  to  fulfil  his  stipulations  with  General  Carle- 
ton,  and  take  up  the  hatchet  in  the  cause  of  the 
crown,  he  was  cautiously  and  privately  landed  some 
where  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New- York,  whence 
he  performed  a  very  hazardous  journey  to  Canada, 
having,  of  course,  to  steal  his  way  through  a  hostile 
population,  until  he  could  hide  himself  in  the  forests 
beyond  Albany.  He  had  taken  the  precaution,  how 
ever,  in  England,  to  provide  evidence  of  the  identity 
of  his  body  in  case  of  disaster,  or  of  his  fall  in  any 
of  the  battles  he  anticipated,  by  procuring  a  gold  fin 
ger  ring,  with  his  name  engraven  thereon  at  length.* 

*  Tliis  ring  he  wore  until  his  death.     It  was  kept  as  a  precious  reHe 

VOL.  I  — L 


130  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

What  were  the  particular  arguments  addressed  to 
the  Mohawk  in  the  British  capital,  or  by  what  pro 
cess  he  became  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the 
arms  of  the  king  would,  in  the  end,  be  victorious  in 
the  colonies,  is  not  known.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  whatever  doubts  he  might  have  entertained, 
were  most  effectually  dispelled;  since,  on  taking 
leave,  it  was  understood  that  he  pledged  himself 
heartily  to  embrace  the  royal  cause,  and  promised 
to  take  the  field  with  three  thousand  warriors  of  his 
race.* 

It  is  no  more  than  justice,  however,  to  allow  Cap 
tain  Brant  to  speak  for  himself  in  regard  to  the 
principle  by  which  he  was  governed  in  his  decision. 
In  a  letter  written  by  him  to  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  the 
under-secretary  of  state,  when  in  England  after  the 
peace  of  1783,  he  said :  "  When  I  joined  the  Eng 
lish  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  it  was  purely  on 
account  of  my  forefathers'  engagements  with  the 
king.  I  always  looked  upon  these  engagements,  or 
covenants  between  the  king  and  the  Indian  nations, 
as  a  sacred  thing :  therefore,  I  was  not  to  be  fright 
ened  by  the  threats  of  the  rebels  at  that  time ;  I  as 
sure  you  I  had  no  other  view  in  it,  and  this  was  my 
real  case  from  the  beginning." 

by  his  widow  foi  four  years,  when  it  was  lost.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
however,  during  the  last  summer  (1836),  the  identical  ring  was  found  by 
a  little  girl  in  a  ploughed  field  near. Wellington  Square,  while  the  ven 
erable  Indian  queen  was  on  a  visit  to  her  daughter,  the  accomplished  lady 
of  Colonel  Kerr.  The  aged  widow  of  the  old  chief  was  overjoyed  at  once 
more  possessing  the  memento,  after  it  had  been  lost  six-and-twenty  years. 
*  It  appears  that  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  must  have  visited  England  at 
the  same  time,  or  nearly  the  same  time,  with  Brant.  Perhaps  they  went 
together,  although  Johnson  did  riot  return  so  soon.  General  Washing 
ton  announced  his  arrival  at  Staten  Island,  from  England,  on  the  Cth 
of  August,  1776,  in  a  letter  written  to  the  President  of  Congress  on  the 
8th.  In  Dunlap's  History  of  the  American  Stage,  Guy  Johnson's  name 
is  given,  in  1778,  as  one  of  the  managers  of  the  old  Theatre  Royal,  John- 
street.  The  players  were  all  amateurs,  officers  of  the  British  army,  and 
the  avails  of  their  performances  were  appropriated  for  benevolent  purpo 
ses.  The  unfortunate  Major  Andre  was  one  of  the  actors,  and  the  scene 
painter.  A  drop-curtain,  painted  by  him,  was  used  many  years  after 
his  death. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  131 

By  "  threats,"  in  this  letter  to  the  under-secretary, 
.Urant  probably  meant  no  more  than  the  efforts  made 
by  the  Americans  to  prevent  his  joining  the  royal 
standard,  and  to  preserve  the  neutrality  of  the  In 
dians.     In  connexion  with  these  efforts,  there  is  a 
scrap  of  unwritten  history,  which,  whether  true  or 
not,  is  characteristic  of  the  shrewdness,  and  drv 
sarcastic  humour  of  the  chief.     It  is  related,  that 
during  the  early  part  of  the  year  1775,  while  it  was 
yet  considered  doubtful  which  side  the  Mohawks 
would  espouse,  and  when  it  was,  of  course  very  de 
sirable  to  ascertain  the  views  of  Brant  upon  the 
subject,  President  Wheelock  was  applied  to  as  a 
medium  of  communication  with  his  former  pupil 
Ihe  doctor,  according  to  the  tradition,  wrote  him  a 
long  epistle  upon  the  aspect  of  the  times,  and  urged 
upon  Brant  those  considerations  which  appeared 
most  likely  to  win  him  over,  or,  rather,  to  secure 
his  neutrality,  if  not  his  friendship,  to  the  colonists 
Brant  replied  very  ingeniously.  Among  other  things 
He  referred  to  his  former  residence  with  the  doctor, 
recalled  the  happy  hours  he  had  passed  under  his 
root,  and  referred  especially  to  his  prayers  and  the 
family  devotions  to  which  he  had  listened.     He  said 
he  could  never  forget  those  prayers  ;  and  one  pas 
sage,  in  particular,  was  so  often  repeated,  that  it 
could  never  be  effaced  from  his  mind.     It  was 
among  other  of  his  good  preceptor's  petitions,  "  that 
they  might  be  able  to  live  as  good  subjects— to  fear 
trod  and  HONOUR  THE  KING." 

If  doubt  had  existed  among  the  colonists  before, 
as  to  the  direction  of  the  channel  in  which  ran  his 
inclinations,  there  was  surely  none  after  the  perusal 
of  this  letter.     But  scenes  of  a  more  stirring  char 
acter  now  demand  the  attention. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  memorable  Canadian 
campaign— so  brilliantly  commenced,  so  success- 
fully  prosecuted  for  many  months,  and  yet  so  disas 
trously  terminated— while  the  shattered  remains  of 


132  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

the  American  forces  were  retiring  before  the  troops 
of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the  former  experienced  a  sad 
disaster  at  "  the  Cedars,"  a  point  of  land  extending 
far  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  about  forty  miles  above 
Montreal,  which  was  occupied  by  Colonel  Bedell 
with  three  hundred  and  ninety  provincial  troops  and 
two  fieldpieces.  General  Carleton  directed  a  de 
scent  upon  this  post  from  the  British  station  at  Os- 
wegatchie,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Forster, 
at  the  head  of  one  company  of  regular  troops  and  a 
body  of  Indians  numbering  nearly  six  hundred.  The 
latter  were  led  by  Thayendanegea.  On  the  appear 
ance  of  the  enemy  before  the  American  works,  Col 
onel  Bedell  repaired  immediately  to  Montreal  for 
assistance,  leaving  the  Cedars  in  charge  of  Major 
Butterfield.  Colonel  (afterward  general)  Arnold, 
who  was  then  in  command  of  Montreal — not  yet 
evacuated  by  the  Americans — forthwith  detached 
Major  Sherburne  with  one  hundred  men,  to  proceed 
to  the  Cedars,  and  prepared  to  follow  himself  with  a 
much  larger  force.  Meantime,  however,  Major  But 
terfield,  who,  it  was  believed,  might  have  easily  de 
fended  the  position,  was  intimidated  by  a  threat 
from  the  enemy,  that,  should  the  siege  continue  and. 
any  of  the  Indians  be  slain,  in  the  event  of  an  event 
ual  surrender  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  British 
commander  to  prevent  a  general  massacre,  and 
consented  to  a  capitulation,  by  which  the  whole  gar 
rison  became  prisoners  of  war.  Major  Sherburne 
approached  on  the  day  following,  without  having 
received  any  information  of  the  change  of  circum 
stances  until  within  four  miles  of  the  post,  where, 
on  the  20th  of  May,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Indians, 
and,  after  a  sharp  conflict,  compelled  to  surrender  at 
discretion.  No  sooner  had  Arnold  received  infor 
mation  of  these  events,  than  he  marched  against  the 
foe,  then  at  Vaudreuil,  at  the  head  of  seven  hundred 
men,  with  a  view  of  chastising  the  enemy  and  re 
covering  the  prisoners.  "  When  preparing  for  an 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

engagement,  he  received  a  flag  accompanied  by  Ma 
jor  Sherburne,  giving  him  the  most  positive  assu 
rances  that  if  he  persisted  in  his  design  it  would  be 
entirely  out  of  the  power  of  Captflin  Forster  to  pre 
vent  his  savages  from  pursuing  their  horrid  customs, 
and  disencumbering  themselves  of  their  prisoners 
by  putting  every  man  to  death.  This  massacre 
was  already  threatened,  and  Major  Sherburne  con 
firmed  the  information.  Under  the  influence  of  this 
threat,  Arnold  desisted  from  his  purpose,  and  con 
sented  to  a  cartel,  by  which  the  prisoners  were  de 
livered  up  to  him  ;  he  agreeing,  among  other  things, 
not  only  to  deliver  as  many  British  soldiers  in  ex 
change  for  them,  but  also  that  they  should  imme 
diately  return  to  their  homes." 

This  disaster,  or,  perhaps,  more  correctly  speak 
ing,  the  conduct  of  the  officers  to  whose  cowardice 
it  was  imputed,  was  a  source  of  deep  mortification 
to  General  Washington,  and  he  gave  utterance  to 
his  vexation  in  several  letters  written  soon  after 
ward.  Nor  was  Butterfield  alone  blamed,  Colonel 
Bedell  being  placed  in  the  same  category  of  con 
demnation.  The  commander-in-chief  was  likewise 
incensed  at  the  conduct  of  Captain  Forster,  in  re 
sorting  to  deceptive  and  very  unjustifiable  means  to 
procure  hostages  for  ratifying  a  treaty  of  exchange. 
The  name  of  Captain  Brant  is  not  mentioned  in 
any  of  the  books  in  connexion  with  these  transac 
tions  at  the  Cedars.  There  is  positive  evidence, 
however,  that  he  was  not  only  there,  but  that  he 
exerted  himself  efficiently,  after  the  surrender  of 
Major  Sherburne,  to  control  the  Indians  and  pre 
vent  the  massacre  of  the  prisoners.  Among  these 
latter  was  Captain  John  M'Kinstry,  who  command 
ed  a  company  on  that  occasion.  From  his  account 
of  the  battle,  Major  Sherburne  fell  into  an  ambus 
cade,  and  the  fighting  was  severe.  Captain  M'Kins 
try's  command  was  engaged  sharply  with  a  body 
of  Indians,  before  whom  his  troops  were  several 


134  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

times  compelled  to  retire.  Rallying,  however,  with 
spirit,  the  Indians  were  repeatedly  driven  back  in 
turn ;  and  the  respective  parties  were  thus  succes 
sively  driven  by  each  other,  back  and  forth,  accord 
ing  to  the  doubtful  and  varying  fortunes  of  the  hour, 
until  the  Americans  were  overpowered  by  numbers, 
and  compelled  to  surrender;  Captain  M'Kinstry 
being  wounded,  fell  by  the  side  of  a  tree,  and  was 
there  taken.  He  subsequently  ascertained  that  he 
had  been  marked  as  a  victim  by  the  Indians,  who 
had  actually  made  the  usual  preparations  for  putting 
him  to  death  by  the  torture  of  fire  ;  and  that  he  was 
rescued  by  the  personal  exertions  of  Captain  Brant, 
who,  in  connexion  with  some  humane  English  offi 
cers,  made  up  a  purse  and  purchased  an  ox,  which 
the  Indians  roasted  for  their  carousal  instead  of  the 
gallant  prisoner.  Captain  M'Kinstry  was  treated 
with  kindness  while  a  prisoner,  and  contracted  an 
intimacy  with  Brant,  which  continued  until  the  chief 
tain's  death.  Brant  never  visited  the  Hudson  after 
the  Revolution  without  spending  a  few  days  with 
Colonel  M'Kinstry  at  the  Manor ;  and  at  the  time 
of  his  last  visit,  about  the  year  1805,  in  company 
with  his  friend,  who,  like  himself,  was  a  member  of 
the  brotherhood,  he  attended  the  Freemason's  Lodge 
in  the  city  of  Hudson,  where  his  presence  attracted 
great  attention. 

But  to  return.  The  conduct  of  Major  Butterfield 
at  the  Cedars  was  likewise  severely  denounced  in 
Congress,  and  his  capitulation  pronounced,  by  reso 
lution,  "  a  shameful  surrender."  Due  credit  was  at 
the  same  time  awarded  to  Major  Sherburne  for  the 
bravery  displayed  by  himself  and  his  troops,  who 
only  "  surrendered  at  last  on  absolute  necessity." 
Notwithstanding,  moreover,  the  interposition  of 
Captain  Brant  to  prevent  a  massacre,  and  the  res 
cue  of  Captain  M'Kinstry,  such  outrages  were  re 
ported  to  Congress  as  to  call  forth  a  series  of  indig 
nant  resolutions  upon  the  subject.  In  the  preamble 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  135 

to  these  resolutions,  it  was  stated  that,  immediately 
after  the   surrender,  the  prisoners  were  delivered 
over  to  the  Indians  ;  their  baggage  plundered,  their 
clothes  taken  from  them,  and  several  of  their  num 
ber  killed ;  and  one  of  them,  who  had  only  been 
wounded,  roasted  alive.     From  the  circumstance 
that   Captain   M'Kinstry  had  been  wounded,   and 
designated  for  the  torture,  though  rescued,  as  we 
have   already  seen,  by   Captain   Brant,  it    is  quite 
probable  that  Congress  was  misinformed  as  to  the 
actual  consummation  of  such  a  purpose  in  the  per 
son  of  any  prisoner.     Assuming  the  fact,  however, 
the  enemy's  conduct  was  denounced  in  the  strongest 
terms :  Congress  asserting  the  right  of  demanding 
indemnification  for  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the 
prisoners  in  their  persons  and  property  ;  and  in  re 
gard  to  the  murder  of  prisoners  by  the  Indians,  re 
quiring  that  the  authors  of  those  murders  be  deliv 
ered  into  their  hands  for  condign  punishment,  as  a 
condition  precedent  to  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
In  regard  to  the  torturing  of  prisoners,  a  resolution 
was  also  adopted,  denouncing,  "  as  the  sole  means 
of  stopping  the  progress  of  human  butchery,"  a  re 
taliation  of  punishment,  of  the  same  kind  and  degree, 
to  be  inflicted  upon  a  like  number  of  prisoners  of 
the  enemy,  in  every  case  of  outrage  thereafter  to 
occur. 

These  resolutions  were,  in  effect,  a  refusal  to 
confirm  the  treaty  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners 
entered  into  by  General  Arnold,  and  were  so  con 
sidered  by  the  commanding  officers  in  Canada.  The 
consequence  was,  the  indulgence  of  much  crimina 
tion  and  recrimination  on  the  part  both  of  the  Ameri 
can  and  British  commanders.  Indeed,  complaints 
of  the  cruel  treatment  of  the  prisoners  falling  into 
their  hands  had  been  preferred  against  the  enemy 
several  months  before,  particularly  in  the  case  of 
Colonel  Ethan  Allen  and  his  fellow-captives.  Allen 
had  been  captured  by  General  Prescott,  by  whom. 


BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

in  addition  to  other  indignities,  he  had  been  heavity 
ironed,  and  sent  like  a  common  felon  to  England. 
Prescott  was   afterward  taken  by  the  Americans 
and  treated  with  considerable  rigour,  in  retaliation 
for  the  ill  usage  of  Allen.     This  produced  a  remon 
strance  from  General  Howe,  who,  on  being  remind 
ed  of  the  case  of  Allen,  disclaimed  any  responsibil 
ity  in  regard  to  that  transaction,  inasmuch  as  it  was 
an  occurrence  in  a  district  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  his  particular  command.     The  affair  of  the  Ce 
dars  excited  the  strongest  feelings  of  indignationT 
not  only  in  Congress  and  among  the  people,  but  in 
the  army.     Soon  afterward  the  account  was  in  part 
balanced,  by  a  diabolical  outrage  committed  by  an 
American  scouting  party  in  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 
John's.     It  was  the  deliberate  assassination,  by  the 
lieutenant  at  the  head  of  the  party,  of  Brigadier- 
general  Gordon  of  the  British  army.     General  Gor 
don  was  riding  alone,  and  in  full  uniform,  from  La- 
prairie  to  St.  John's.     The  lieutenant  and  his  party 
were  in  ambush  within  the  British  lines ;  and,  as 
the  general  passed,  the  former  wantonly  and  bar 
barously  shot  him  through  the  body.     Although  the- 
wound  was  mortal,  the  general  rode  on,  and  speed 
ily  reached   St.   John's,  where   he   expired.     This 
painful  incident  aroused  as  warm  a  burst  of  indig 
nation  among  the  British  officers  as  the  affair  of  the 
Cedars  had  done  among  the  Americans.     General 
Carleton  availed  himself  of  the  occurrence  to  issue 
a  violent,  though  artful   proclamation,  which  was 
pronounced  by  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress,  to  be  "  highly  unbecoming  the 
character  of  a  soldier  and  gentleman."     Although 
the  prisoners  were  not  exchanged,  under  the  arrange 
ment  made  with  Arnold,  yet  Carleton  set  the  Ameri 
can  captives  at  liberty,  on  condition  of  their  return 
ing  to  their  own  homes,  there  to  remain  as  prisoners. 
Each  of  the  prisoners  was  furnished  with  a  copy 
of  his  insidious  proclamation. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  137 

It  was  not  supposed  that  any  considerable  num 
bers  of  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations  participated 
in  the  battle  of  the  Cedars,  other  than  the  Mohawks 
and  their  kindred  tribe,  the  Caughnawagas,  or  the 
Seven  Nations  of  Canada,  as  they  chose  to  call 
themselves.  Indeed,  the  Six  Nations  were,  at  that 
stage  of  the  contest,  far  from  being  unanimous  in 
opposition  to  the  colonies ;  and  at  the  very  time  of 
these  occurrences,  a  deputation  from  four  of  the 
nations  was  at  Philadelphia,  on  a  peaceable  mission 
to  Congress. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1776,  the  Congress  resolved 
"  that  it  was  highly  expedient  to  engage  the  Indians 
in  the  service  of  the  United  Colonies  ;"  and  they 
empowered  the  commander-in-chief  to  employ,  in 
Canada  and  elsewhere,  a  number  not  exceeding  two 
thousand,  offering  them  "  a  reward  of  one  hundred 
dollars  for  every  commissioned  officer,  and  thirty 
dollars  for  every  private  soldier  of  the  king's  troops, 
that  they  should  take  prisoner  in  the  Indian  coun 
try,  or  on  the  frontier  of  these  colonies/'  The 
Congress  also  authorized  General  Washington  to 
employ  the  Indians  of  Penobscot,  St.  John's,  and 
Nova  Scotia,  who  had  proffered  their  services,  and 
were  to  receive  the  same  pay  as  the  Continental 
soldiers. 

Whether  any  of  those  Eastern  Indians  were  ever 
actually  engaged  in  the  American  service,  is  not 
known.  In  regard  to  the  employment  of  the  North 
ern  Indians,  Washington  forthwith  entered  into  a 
correspondence  with  General  Schuyler  upon  the  sub 
ject,  and  pressed  him  to  carry  the  resolutions  into 
effect.  The  latter,  however,  was  averse  to  the 
measure — as  much  so  as  at  the  first.  He  disliked 
to  employ  such  a  force  under  any  circumstances, 
contending  that  they  were  too  fickle  and  uncertain 
to  allow  any  well-founded  reliance  to  be  placed  upon 
them  at  the  moment  of  emergency.  At  that  partic 
ular  conjuncture,  especially,  when  our  troops,  bro- 


138  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ken  and  dispersed,  were  flying  like  fugitives  from 
Canada,  he  thought  the  chances  of  obtaining  Indian 
auxiliaries  exceedingly  slender ;  and  as  to  the  num 
ber  prescribed  (two  thousand),  the  general  intima 
ted,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  commander-in-chief 
that  it  would  have  been  well  if  Congress  had  conde 
scended  to  inform  him  where  so  many  Indian  war 
riors,  not  already  in  the  service  of  the  enemy,  were 
to  be  found.  In  short,  General  Schuyler's  opinion 
was  correct  from  the  beginning,  that  the  colonies 
could  expect  no  essential  aid  from  the  Indians ;  and 
whatever  aid  they  might  receive,  would  be  sure  to 
cost  more  than  it  would  come  to.  So  the  event 
proved.  But,  although  the  British  profited  most  by 
the  employment  of  the  Indians,  they  are  not  alone 
to  blame  for  using  them.  So  far,  certainly,  as  prin 
ciple  and  intention  are  concerned,  the  Americans 
are  equitably  entitled  to  a  due  share  of  the  censure. 
In  recurring  to  coincident  events  transpiring  in 
other  parts  of  the  country,  it  must  be  remarked,  that 
the  commander-in-chief  was  often  placed  in  cir 
cumstances  not  the  most  promising.  On  his  arri 
val  at  the  camp  before  Boston,  the  preceding  year, 
he  had  found  only  "  the  materials  for  a  good  army" 
— not  the  organized  army  itself.  The  troops  were 
mostly  undisciplined ;  and  having  taken  arms  to 
fight  for  liberty,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  bring 
them  into  those  habits  of  subordination  which  ne 
cessarily  render  a  soldier  a  mere  machine  to  be 
moved  at  the  will  of  his  commander.  The  first  ob 
ject  of  General  Washington,  therefore,  was  to  bring 
the  troops  into  a  state  of  discipline.  But  another 
difficulty  presented  itself  in  the  fact  that,  owing  to 
the  short  periods  of  enlistment,  the  times  of  service 
of  the  greater  portion  of  the  army  were  to  expire  in 
November  and  December.  To  which  was  added  the 
embarrassing  discovery  that  all  the  powder  at  his 
command  was  barely  sufficient  to  supply  nine 
rounds  of  cartridges  per  man.  There  was,  more- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  139 

over,  a  general  want  of  camp  equipage  and  clothing, 
and,  indeed,  of  everything  necessary  alike  to  the  com 
fort  and  the  efficiency  of  an  army.  But  Heaven,  in  its 
mercy,  seemed  to  have  devolved  the  command  upon 
the  man  of  all  others  best  calculated  to  meet  the 
emergency  and  overcome  it.  His  destitution  of 
ammunition  was  artfully  and  effectually  concealed 
from  the  enemy  ;  and  although,  on  the  discharge  of 
those  of  his  troops  who  would  not  re-enlist,  at  the 
close  of  December  (1775),  he  had  no  more  than 
<J650  men  left,  he  yet  contrived  to  sustain  himself 
and  keep  the  enemy  beleaguered  in  Boston  during 
the  whole  winter.  "  It  is  not  in  the  pages  of  history, 
perhaps,"  he  wrote  to  Congress,  "  to  furnish  a  case 
like  ours.  To  maintain  a  post  within  musket-shot 
of  the  enemy  for  six  months  together,  without  am 
munition,  and  at  the  same  time  to  disband  one  army 
and  recruit  another,  within  that  distance  of  twenty 
old  British  regiments,  is  more,  probably,  than  was 
ever  attempted." 

The  Continental  Congress  had  been  induced  by 
the  influence  of  the  commander-in-chief  to  resolve 
upon  the  raising  of  an  army  of  75,000  men.  to  be 
enlisted  for  the  term  of  three  years,  or  during  the 
war.  It  was  not  until  January,  however,  that  they 
could  be  induced  to  offer  bounties  for  enlistments, 
and  even  then  the  ranks  were  not  rapidly  filled.  At 
the  close  of  February,  the  whole  effective  force  of 
the  Americans  was  no  more  than  14,000  men,  ex 
clusive  of  6000  of  the  Massachusetts  militia.  An 
assault  upon  Boston  had  been  meditated  in  Febru 
ary  by  General  Washington  ;  but  the  opinion  of  his 
principal  officers,  expressed  in  a  council  of  war, 
being  strongly  against  such  a  movement,  the  •enter 
prise  was  reluctantly  abandoned.  Wearied  by  inac 
tion,  the  next  project  of  the  American  commander 
was  to  take  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights,  a 
position  commanding  the  town  of  Boston,  the  occu 
pation  of  which  would  compel  General  Howe  either 


140  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

to  attempt  its  dispossession  by  the  Americans,  or  to 
evacuate  the  town.  The  enterprise  was  so  well 
planned,  as  to  be  executed  by  General  Thomas  with 
complete  and  brilliant  success,  on  the  night  of  the 
4th  of  March.  Having  diverted  the  attention  of  the 
enemy  by  a  bombardment  of  his  lines  in  another 
direction,  the  movement  was  unperceived.  The 
weather  being  mild,  the  American  troops  were  en 
abled  to  labour  with  energy  in  throwing  up  defences, 
which,  on  the  following  morning,  struck  the  gener 
al  of  the  British  army  with  astonishment,  from  their 
sudden  appearance  and  their  magnitude.  A  heavy 
atmosphere  contributed  to  magnify  the  height  of 
the  works  and  increase  the  wonder  of  the  foe. 
Sir  William  Howe  made  immediate  preparations  to 
drive  the  Americans  from  their  new,  and,  to  him, 
dangerous  position ;  for  which  purpose  two  thousand 
choice  troops  were  embarked  to  cross  over  the 
same  evening ;  but  a  severe  tempest  frustrated  his 
design.  On  the  following  morning  General  Howe 
convened  a  council  of  war,  at  which  it  \vas  resolved 
to  evacuate  the  town  as  soon  as  possible.  This  de 
termination  was  carried  into  execution  on  the  17th, 
by  the  embarcation  of  the  whole  British  army,  and 
the  sailing  of  the  British  fleet,  first  to  Halifax,  but 
ultimately,  as  the  event  proved,  for  New-York.  On 
the  same  day  General  Washington  entered  Boston 
in  triumph,  and  was  hailed,  by  the  universal  acclaim 
of  the  people,  as  their  deliverer.  Thus  was  the 
town  which  first  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion  the 
first  to  rejoice  at  the  retreat  of  its  oppressors.  Nor 
was  it  the  fortune  of  the  invaders  ever  to  set  foot 
there  again. 

In  the  North,  the  operations  of  the  Provincial 
army  had  been  far  less  propitious.  The  conquest  of 
Canada  was  a  favourite  project  with  Congress,  and 
every  possible  effort  within  the  slender  means  of 
the  colonies  was  made  to  that  end.  But  the  fall  of 
Montgomery  had  thrown  a  gloom  over  the  enterprise 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTKN.  141 

which  was  never  dissipated.  Colonel,  now  General 
Arnold,  had  maintained  himself  before  Quebec  du 
ring  the  winter,  and  until  late  in  the  spring,  with 
but  a  handful  of  men,  numbering,  at  one  time,  not 
more  than  five  hundred  effectives.  But  the  re-en 
forcements  were  slow  in  arriving;  the  Canadians, 
from  a  variety  of  causes — the  principal  of  which, 
beyond  doubt,  was  bad  treatment  from  an  undisci 
plined  soldiery — became  less  friendly  to  the  Ameri 
cans  than  at  first,  notwithstanding  the  mission  of 
Messrs.  Franklin,  Chase,  and  Carroll,  accompanied 
by  a  Catholic  priest,  to  conciliate  them  ;  and  on  the 
arrival  of  General  Wooster  at  his  quarters,  about 
the  1st  of  April,  Arnold  obtained  leave  of  absence, 
and  took  the  command  at  Montreal.  General  Thom 
as,  who  had  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
army  in  Canada,  after  the  exploit  of  Gloucester 
Heights,  arrived  before  Quebec  on  the  1st  of  May, 
where  he  found  an  army  of  nineteen  hundred  men, 
less  than  one  thousand  of  whom  were  effective,  and 
three  hundred  of  these,  being  entitled  to  their  dis 
charge,  refused  to  perform  duty.  They  had  but  one 
hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  powder,  and  six  days' 
provisions.  Well  knowing  that  with  the  opening  of 
the  navigation,  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  expected  re-en 
forcements  would  arrive,  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed  were  altogether  so  unpromising,  that 
General  Thomas,  with  the  concurrence  of  a  council 
of  war,  determined  to  raise  the  siege  on  the  5th  of 
May,  and  assume  a  more  eligible  position  farther 
up  the  river.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  American 
commander  to  remove  the  sick  to  the  Three  Kiv<  --s  ; 
but  oil  the  6th,  before  the  arrangements  for  ret.v.it- 
ing  were  all  concerted,  a  British  fleet,  with  re-en 
forcements,  arrived.  General  Carleton  immediately 
made  a  sortie  at  the  head  of  one  thousand  men,  to 
oppose  whom  General  Thomas  had  not  more  than 
three  hundred  available  'troops.  No  other  course 
remained,  therefore,  but  a  precipitate  retreat  to  all 


142  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

who  could  get  away,  leaving  the  sick  and  the  mili 
tary  stores  to  the  enemy.  General  Thomas  led  his 
little  band  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  where  ho 
was  seized  with  the  smallpox,  and  died.  Large 
re-enforcements  joined  the  fugitive  army  at  that 
place  under  General  Sullivan.  Before  General 
Carleton  moved  from  Quebec,  an  expedition  was 
undertaken  from  Sorel  to  the  Three  Rivers,  against 
General  Frasier,  under  the  direction  of  General 
Thompson  and  Colonel  St.  Clair.  It  was  unsuc 
cessful  :  from  which  time  disaster  followed  disas 
ter,  until,  owing  to  the  combined  causes  of  defeat, 
sickness,  and  insubordination,  the  Americans  found 
themselves,  on  the  18th  of  June,  driven  entirely  out 
of  Canada  ;  the  British  army  following  so  closely 
upon  their  heels,  as  immediately  to  occupy  the  differ 
ent  posts  as  they  were  successively  evacuated. 

The  Americans,  however,  still  retained  the  con 
trol  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  occupied  the  fortifica 
tions  upon  its  shores,  the  command  of  which  had 
now  been  assigned  by  Congress  to  General  Gates, 
with  great  and  manifest  injustice  towards  General 
Schuyler.  Gates  at  first  established  his  headquar 
ters  at  Crown  Point,  but  soon  afterward  withdrew 
his  forces  from  that  post,  and  fell  back  upon  Ticon- 
deroga.  This  step  was  taken  by  the  advice  and 
concurrence  of  a  board  of  general  officers,  but  con 
trary  to  the  wishes  of  the  field-officers.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief  was  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with 
this  movement  of  Gates,  believing  that  the  relin- 
quishment  of  that  post,  in  its  consequences,  would 
be  equivalent  to  an  abandonment  of  Lakes  George 
and  Champlain,  and  all  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
therefrom.  In  reply  to  the  concern  that  had  been 
expressed  by  Washington  on  the  occasion,  General 
Gates  contended  that  Crown  Point  was  untenable 
with  the  forces  then  under  his  command,  nor  could 
it  be  successfully  defended  even  with  the  aid  of  the 
expected  re-enforcements.  These  re-enforcements, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  143 

moreover,  the  general  added,  could  not  be  allowed 
to  approach  nearer  to  Crown  Point  than  Skenes- 
borough,  since  "  it  would  be  only  heaping  one  hos 
pital  upon  another."*  The  annals  of  disastrous 
war  scarce  present  a  more  deplorable  picture  than 
that  exhibited  by  the  Americans  escaping  from 
Canada.  In  addition  to  the  smallpox,  the  army 
had  been  afflicted  by  other  diseases,  generated  by 
exposure,  destitution,  and  laxity  of  discipline.  Fleets 
of  boats  came  up  the  lake  freighted  with  the  sick 
and  dying,  and  even  those  reported  from  day  to 
day  fit  for  duty  presented  but  the  appearance  of  a 
haggard  skeleton  of  an  army.  "  Everything  about 
this  army,"  said  General  Gates  in  the  letter  already 
cited,  "  is  infected  with  the  pestilence  ;  the  clothes, 
the  blankets,  the  air,  and  the  ground  they  walk  upon. 
To  put  this  evil  from  us,  a  general  hospital  is  estab 
lished  at  Fort  George,!  where  there  are  now  between 
two  and  three  thousand  sick,  and  where  every  in 
fected  person  is  immediately  sent.  But  this  care 
and  caution  have  not  effectually  destroyed  the  dis 
ease  here  ;  it  is,  notwithstanding,  continually  break 
ing  out." 

Such  was  the  deplorable  condition  in  which  an 
army,  so  recently  victorious,  had  been  driven  back 
from  what  was  in  fact  a  conquered  country,  lost 
entirely  through  mismanagement,  and  the  want  of 
an  army  upon  the  basis  of  permanent  enlistment. 
Added  to  which,  was  another  difficulty  lying  beneath 
the  surface.  Many  prisoners  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  at  Quebec,  and  during  the  sub- 

*  The  smallpox,  which  had  been  so  fatal  to  the  troops  in  Canada,  had 
now  broken  out  at  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  the  pestilence  having 
been  purposely  introduced  by  a  villain  calling-  himself  Doctor  Barker. 
This  fact  is  stated  in  a  letter  from  the  Adjutant-general  of  the  North 
ern  Department  to  Colonel  Gansevoort,  dated  from  Ticonderog-a,  July 
24.  "  The  villain,"  says  the  letter,  "  by  private  inoculations  in  the 
army,  has  caused,  in  a  great  degree,  the  misery  to  which  we  are  reduced 
by  that  infectious  disorder."  Barker  was  arrested  and  sent  to  Albany. — 
MS.  letter  of  Colonel  Trumbull  to  Colonel  Gansevoort. 

t  At  ihe  head  of  Lake  George. 


144  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sequent  retreat.  Towards  all  these  the  conduct  of 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  been  most  politic.  They  had 
been  treated  with  the  greatest  care  and  humanity, 
and  so  much  of  the  subtle  poison  of  flattery,  mingled 
with  kindness,  had  been  poured  into  their  ears,  that 
their  return  on  parole,  which  was  presently  allowed 
by  the  British  commander,  was  regarded  with  ap 
prehension.  On  one  occasion,  a  large  number  of 
prisoners  arriving  at  Crown  Point  from  St.  John's 
in  a  vessel  provided  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  were 
visited,  before  landing,  by  Colonel  John  Trumbull, 
the  adjutant-general  for  the  northern  department. 
From  the  feelings  they  manifested,  and  the  tenour 
of  their  conversation,  Colonel  Trumbull  saw  at  once 
that  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  allow  them  to  land, 
or  to  hold  the  least  intercourse  with  the  suffering 
troops  of  the  garrison.  He  immediately  reported 
the  fact  to  the  general,  and  advised  that  the  said 
prisoners  should  be  sent  directly  forward  to  Skenes- 
borough,  and  despatched  to  their  respective  homes, 
without  allowing  them  to  mingle  with  the  troops  at 
that  place.  The  suggestion  was  adopted. 

Nor  were  the  difficulties  enumerated,  all  which 
the  officers  had  to  encounter.  The  spirit  of  disaf 
fection  was  far  more  extensive  than  those  who  are 
left  to  contemplate  the  scenes  through  which  their 
fathers  passed,  and  the  discouragements  against 
which  they  were  compelled  to  struggle,  have  been 
wont  to  suppose.  The  burden  of  many  of  General 
Schuyler's  letters,  and  also  the  letters  of  other  offi 
cers,  during  the  whole  of  this  season,  was  the  fre 
quency  of  desertions  to  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 

Glancing  for  a  moment  at  the  situation  of  affairs 
at  tlio  South,  the  gloom  of  the  picture  is  somewhat 
relieved.  The  expedition  of  General  Clinton  and 
Sir  Peter  Parker,  for  the  reduction  of  Charleston, 
had  signally  failed.  The  defence  of  the  fort  bear 
ing  his  own  name,  by  Colonel  Moultrie,  was  one  of 
the  most  gallant  exploits  of  the  whole  contest,  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  145 

served  to  lighten  the  despondency  that  had  been 
produced  by  the  disasters  we  have  been  sketching 
at  the  North.  It  was  at  this  place  that  the  celebrated 
Sergeant  Jasper  signalized  himself,  when  the  flag 
staff  was  shot  away,  by  leaping  from  the  parapet  of 
the  fort  upon  the  beach,  seizing  the  flag,  and,  amid 
the  incessant  firing  of  the  fleet,  mounting,  and  again 
placing  it  on  the  rampart. 

But  the  grand  event  of  the  year,  the  transactions 
of  which  are  now  under  review,  was  the  DECLARA 
TION  of  INDEPENDENCE,  a  motion  for  which  was  sub 
mitted  in  Congress  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Vir 
ginia,  on  the  7th  of  June,  and  the  declaration  itself 
solemnly  adopted  on  the  4th  of  July.  This  measure 
at  once  cut  off  all  hope  of  reconciliation  with  the 
parent  country,  and  all  prospect  of  a  termination 
of  the  war,  unless  by  the  complete  triumph  in  arms 
of  one  party  or  the  other.  Such  a  declaration  was 
an  event  not  originally  anticipated,  even  if  desired 
by  the  mass  of  the  people  ;  although  it  had,  unques 
tionably,  and  from  the  first,  entered  into  the  calcu 
lations  of  the  daring  master  spirits  of  the  movement 
in  Boston.  It  had  furthermore  been  greatly  accel 
erated  by  the  conduct  of  the  British  government  it 
self,  during  the  preceding  session  of  Parliament,  by 
act  of  which  the  Americans  had  been  declared  out 
of  the  royal  protection  ;  so  widely  mistaken  had 
been  the  Congress  of  the  preceding  year,  which 
had  adjourned  with  strong  hopes  that  the  differences 
between  the  two  countries  would  soon  be  adjusted 
to  their  mutual  satisfaction.  At  the  same  time,  the 
parent  government  was  putting  forth  its  energies  to 
crush  the  colonies  at  a  blow.  For  this  purpose 
25,000  British  troops  were  to  be  employed,  in  ad 
dition  to  17,000  German  mercenaries  jourc/iased  from 
the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel,  the  Duke  of  Bruns 
wick,  and  the  Count  of  Hanau.  These  troops,  with 
the  Canadian  recruits,  the  American  Loyalists,  and 
the  Indians,  it  was  intended  should  constitute  an  in- 

Yof,.  I.— M 


146  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

vading  force  of  55,000  men.  With  such  prepara 
tions  in  prospect  against  them,  it  was  no  time  for 
inactivity  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  ;  and  having, 
by  the  declaration,  thrown  away  the  scabbard  of 
the  sword  that  had  been  drawn  fifteen  months  be- 
fore,  there  was  no  alternative  but  resistance  to  the 
end. 

Recurring,  for  a  brief  space,  to  the  history  proper 
of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  it  may  be  assumed,  in  be 
half  of  its  patriotic  population,  that  the  new  attitude 
of  the  country  was  neither  unexpected  nor  unwel 
come.  On  the  contrary,  having  been  among  the 
earliest  to  propose  a  separation,  the  great  act  of 
the  4th  of  July  was  nowhere  more  cordially  re 
ceived  than  by  the  Whigs  of  Tryon  county.  Nor 
did  they  falter  in  their  purpose  of  sustaining  the 
cause  in  which  the  country  had  embarked,  amid  all 
the  disasters  of  the  early  part  of  the  season  or  those 
that  followed.  In  their  own  section  of  country, 
however,  the  flight  of  Sir  John  Johnson  and  his  re 
tainers  was  the  only  important  incident  occurring 
during  that  memorable  year.  Still  there  was  no 
relaxation  of  vigilance,  or  of  preparation  for  the 
worst,  should  the  storm  of  war,  so  long  muttering 
in  the  distance,  actually  break  upon  those  settlements. 
The  frontiers  were  at  all  times  liable  to  the  sudden 
irruptions  of  savages,  and  it  was  necessary  to  keep 
scouting  parties  continually  upon  the  alert.  Cherry 
Valley  being  the  principal  settlement  south  of  the 
Mohawk,  and  lying  directly  in  the  line  of  communi 
cation  between  the  Mohawk  castles  and  the  Indian 
post  at  Oghkwaga,*  was  particularly  exposed.  Early 
in  the  present  summer,  therefore,  a  company  of 
rangers  was  organized  under  the  command  of  Cap 
tain  Robert  M'Kean.  The  public  service  requiring 

*  As  with  most  other  Indian  names,  there  is  difficulty  respecting-  the 
correct  orthography  of  this  place.  It  is  spelled  Oquaga,  Oghquaga,  and 
sometimes  Oneaquaga.  Brant  and  John  Norton,  however,  were  wont  to 
spell  it  Oghkwaga.  I  have  adopted  the  latter  method,  as  supported  *>y 
the  best  authorities.—  A uthor. 


AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  147 

the  captain  and  his  little  corps  elsewhere,  the  in 
habitants  strongly  remonstrated  with  the  Committee 
of  Safety  against  the  removal  of  that  corps,  but 
without  effect.  They  next  addressed  themselves  to 
the  Provincial  Congress  of  New- York,  and,  by  a  for 
cible  and  eloquent  appeal,  obtained  another  compa 
ny  of  rangers  to  be  stationed  among  them,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Winn.*  These  papers 
were  written  with  ability,  and  with  the  energy  of 
men  in  earnest.  They  had  even  then  received, 
through  their  missionaries,  intimations  that  Sir  John 
Johnson  and  Colonel  John  Butler  were  instigating 
the  Indians  to  make  a  descent  upon  them ;  and  al 
ready  were  the  scattered  settlers  in  other  and  new 
er  locations  coming  in  to  Cherry  Valley  for  protec 
tion.  Apprehending,  also,  sudden  irruptions  of 
scalping  parties,  the  aged,  and  such  as  from  other 
causes  were  exempt  from  military  service,  now  or 
ganized  themselves  into  a  company  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  settlement. 

In  the  course  of  the  season,  General  Schuyler 
was  directed  by  Congress  to  cause  Fort  Stanwix  to 
be  strengthened,  and  other  fortifications  to  be  erect 
ed,  at  proper  places,  along  the  Mohawk  River.  Col 
onels  Van  Schaick  and  Dayton  had  previously  been 
stationed  in  Tryon  county  with  detachments  of  reg 
ular  troops — the  former  at  Johnstown,  and  the  latter 
at  German  Flatts.  Upon  Colonel  Dayton  was  im 
posed  the  duty  of  carrying  forward  the  works  at 
Fort  Stanwix,  for  which  purpose  the  Tryon  county 
militia  were  ordered  to  his  assistance.  The  site  of 
that  military  defence  had  early  been  improved,  as 
one  of  the  most  important  inland  posts  of  the  col 
onies.  It  was  originally  built  early  in  1758,  during 
the  French  war  of  1755-61,  by  General  Stanwix,  for 

*  The  names  of  the  Cherry  Valley  Committee  who  took  the  lead  in 
these  matters  were,  John  Moore,  Samuel  Clyde,  Samuel  Campbell, 
Samuel  Dunlop,  James  Scott,  Robert  Wells,  James  Richey,  and  Jarae* 
Moore 


148  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

the  purpose  of  commanding  the  carrying-place  be 
tween  the  Mohawk  River  and  Wood  Creek,  leading 
into  the  Oneida  Lake,  and  thence  into  Lake  Ontario, 
by  the  Oswego  River.  There  were  several  other 
fortifications  at  different  points  of  the  narrow  strip 
of  land  between  the  two  streams  already  mention 
ed,  such  as  Fort  Bull  and  Fort  Newport;  the  former 
commanding  the  creek,  about  three  miles  distant. 
These  were  strong  redoubts  ;  but.  Fort  Stanwix  was 
comparatively  a  formidable  work,  having  its  bomb- 
proofs,  its  sally-port,  and  a  covered  way  to  the 
spring  brook.  Altogether  these  works  formed  an 
ample  defence  of  the  key  from  Upper  Canada  to  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  and  were  likewise  of  signal  ser 
vice  for  the  protection  they  afforded  to  the  Indian 
trade.  But,  although  the  principal  fortress  had  been 
erected  at  the  great  expense — enormous  in  those 
times — of  266,400  dollars,  the  commencement  of  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  found  the  whole  in  ruins. 
Colonel  Dayton  appears  to  have  made  but  little 
progress  in  rebuilding  the  fort,  since  it  will  be 
found  that  other  officers  had  the  works  in  charge 
early  in  the  following  year,  and  they  were  far  from 
complete  when  subsequently  invested  by  the  motley 
forces  of  General  St.  Leger.  Colonel  Dayton,  how 
ever,  thought  proper  to  change  its  name  in  honour 
of  the  general  commanding  the  Northern  depart 
ment,  and  it  was  subsequently  known  as  Fort 
Schuyler  during  the  residue  of  the  war.* 

A  rapid  glance  at  the  other  warlike  events  of  the 
season  will  close  the  history  of  the  year.  Anticipa 
ting,  on  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  General  Howe, 
that  his  next  point  of  attack  would  be  New- York, 
General  Lee  was  detached  by  the  commander-in- 

*  There  was  another  Fort  Schuyler  built  on  the  present  site  of  Utica 
during  the  old  French  war,  and  named  thus  in  honour  of  Colonel  Schuy 
ler,  an  uncle  of  General  Philip  Schuyler  of  the  Revolution.  The  two 
are  often  confounded  in  history,  and  the  change  in  the  name  of  Fort 
Stanwix  was  alike  unnecessary  and  unwise. 


AMEHICAN    REVOLUTION.  149 

chief  with  a  portion  of  the  army  to  put  Long  Island 
and  the  harbour  of  New- York  in  a  posture  of  de 
fence.  Washington  followed  soon  afterward  him 
self,  and  established  his  headquarters  in  the  city. 
Having  been  joined  by  his  brother,  Lord  Howe,  as 
commander  of  the  fleet  at  Halifax,  General,  after 
ward  Sir  William  Howe,  with  his  re-enforcements, 
arrived  off  Sandy  Hook,  the  latter  on  the  25th  of 
June,  and  the  former  on  the  12th  of  July.  General 
Clinton  arriving  at  about  the  same  time  from  the  un 
successful  enterprise  against  Charleston,  with  Ad 
miral  Hotham,  the  combined  forces  of  the  enemy 
now  amounted  to  about  24,000  men,  including  the 
Hessians. 

Lord  and  Sir  William  Howe  were  clothed  with 
powers,  as  commissioners,  to  treat  with  the  colo 
nies  for  a  reconciliation.  Their  pacific  errand  was 
proclaimed  before  hostilities  were  recommenced, 
and  promises  of  pardon  were  proffered  to  all  who 
would  avail  themselves  of  the  royal  clemency,  and 
return  to  their  allegiance  and  duty.  Their  proposals, 
however,  were  considered  too  exceptionable,  both 
in  matter  and  form,  to  receive  the  least  attention. 

On  the  22d  of  August  the  British  army  was  land 
ed  upon  Long  Island,  at  Gravesend.  The  American 
army,  at  this  time  consisting  of  15,000  men,  under 
General  Sullivan,  was  encamped  in  the  neighbour 
hood  of  Brooklyn.  The  battle  of  Long  Island, 
which  was  severely,  though  ineffectually,  contested 
by  the  American  forces  under  Sullivan  and  Lord 
Stirling,  was  fought  on  the  27th  of  August.  In  this 
action,  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  differently  re 
ported  at  from  300  to  450.  The  loss  of  the  Ameri 
cans  was  far  more  considerable.  General  Wash 
ington  admitted  it  to  be  1000,  but  is  believed  only  to 
have  referred  to  the  loss  of  the  regular  troops. 
General  Howe  claimed  1097  prisoners,  among  whom 
were  Generals  Sullivan,  Stirling,  and  Woodhull. 
On  the  30th,  the  Americans  effected  a  masterly  re- 


150  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

treat  across  the  East  River  to  New- York.*  The  en* 
emy  made  immediate  dispositions  for  attacking 
New- York ;  and  so  prompt  and  skilful  were  his 
movements,  that,  in  a  council  of  general  officers,  an 
evacuation  forthwith  was  deemed  the  only  means 
of  saving  the  army.  The  British  fleet  was  divided 
into  two  squadrons,  one  of  which  entered  the  East 
and  the  other  the  North  River.  Under  cover  of  the 
former,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  crossed  from  Long  Isl 
and,  and  landed  at  Kipp's  Bay,  with  such  celerity 
that  the  Americans  fled  in  disorder.  Indeed,  the 
evacuation  resembled  rather  a  flight  than  a  retreat ; 
all  the  heavy  artillery,  military  stores,  baggage,  and 
provisions,  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  A 
large  portion  of  the  American  forces  at  that  time 
consisted  of  militia,  the  conduct  of  which  was  scan 
dalous  beyond  endurance.  They  deserted,  not  only 
in  small  numbers,  but  in  companies  and  squadrons, 
whenever  they  could ;  and  their  conduct  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy,  or,  rather,  when  running  from  the  faces 
of  the  enemy,  was  most  cowardly.  So  disorderly 
was  their  demeanour,  and  so  like  poltroons  did  they 
behave  when  flying  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  that 
even  Washington  himself  lost  his  patience,  and  was 
excited  to  a  degree  of  hot  exasperation.  In  wri 
ting  from  Harlaem  Heights  to  a  friend.  General 
Greene  said  that  two  brigades  of  militia  ran  away 
from  about  fifty  men,  leaving  the  commander-in- 
chief  on  the  ground  within  eighty  yards  of  the  ene 
my,  so  vexed  with  the  conduct  of  his  troops  that  he 
sought  death  rather  than  life.  His  attempts  to  stop 
them  were  fruitless.  He  drew  his  sword,  and  threat- 

*  During  the  operations  upon  Long  Island  and  New- York,  Captain 
Brant  contrived  to  pass  from  Canada,  and  join  the  king's  forces.  He  was 
with  Governor  Tryon  at  Flatbush.  The  late  Mr.  John  Watts,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  used  to  speak  of  taking  a  walk  with  Govern 
or  Tryon,  Colonel  Asgill,  and  Brant,  through  an  orchard  in  that  vil 
lage.  "  During  their  stroll,  Brant  plucked  a  crude  crab-apple  from  a  tree, 
which,  on  tasting  it,  he  threw  away,  screwing  his  face,  and  exclaim 
ing,  "  It  is  as  bitter  as  a  Presbyterian  '." 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  151 

ened  to  run  them  through,  and  cocked  and  snapped 
his  pistols.  But  all  his  exertions  were  to  no  pur 
pose.  In  a  letter  upon  the  subject  of  this  infamous 
conduct  of  the  militia  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
the  commander-in-chief  declared  that,  were  he  call 
ed  to  give  his  opinion  upon  oath,  he  should  say  that 
the  militia  did  more  injury  to  the  service  than  good. 
General  Greene  had  strongly  urged  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  city  by  fire — a  measure  afterward  so  ef 
fectively  adopted  by  Count  Rostopchin,  governor  of 
the  ancient  capital  of  Muscovy,  to  arrest  the  career 
•)f  Napoleon — that  the  enemy  might  be  deprived  of 
he  advantage  of  establishing  their  winter-quarters 
therein.  His  reasons  for  this  measure  were  sound, 
and  it  ought,  doubtless,  to  have  been  adopted. 
Washington  was  believed  to  be  of  the  same  opin 
ion,  especially  as  two  thirds  of  the  property  which 
it  was  proposed  to  destroy  belonged  to  undisguised 
Loyalists.  But  Congress  would  not  allow  the  sacri 
fice  ;  and  on  the  15th  of  September  the  city  was  in 
full  possession  of  the  enemy,  General  Washington 
having  retired  with  the  army  to  King's  Bridge.  A 
succession  of  movements,  manoeuvres,  and  engage 
ments  followed  in  Westchester,  terminating,  for  the 
moment,  in  the  drawn  battle  of  White  Plains  on  the 
18th  of  October.*  Washington  then  divided  his  ar 
my,  and  crossed  into  New-Jersey  with  a  portion, 
leaving  7500  troops  at  North  Castle,  under  General 
Lee.  The  next  disaster  to  the  American  arms  was 
the  fall  of  Fort  Washington,  on  the  16th  of  Novem 
ber,  after  a  brave  defence  by  Colonel  Magaw,  not 
withstanding  the  refusal  of  a  portion  of  his  troops  to 
man  the  lines.  That  fortress  was  attacked  with 
great  gallantry  at  four  points,  led  by  General  Knyp- 
hausen,  Matthews,  Cornwallis,  and  Lord  Percy. 
The  regiment  of  Colonel  Rawlings,  on  that  occa 
sion,  behaved  with  great  spirit ;  nor  would  Colonel 

*  The  Stockbridg-e  Indians  were  engaged  with  the  Americans  in  this 
battle.     They  fought  bravely,  and  suffered  severely. 


152  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Magaw  have  given  up  the  post  but  for  the  conduct 
of  the  disaffected.  After  the  fall  of  Fort  Washing 
ton,  Lord  Cornwallis  crossed  into  New-Jersey  with 
6000  men  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Fort  Lee,  of 
which  General  Lee  was  then  in  command.  But  the 
means  of  this  skilful  officer  were  not  adequate  to  the 
defence  of  the  post  against  a  force  of  such  unequal 
strength  ;  the  people  of  New-Jersey  were  at  that 
time  intent  rather  to  make  terms  with  the  enemy 
than  to  afford  efficient  assistance,*  and  the  garrison 
was  saved  by  an  evacuation.  General  Washington 
had  taken  post  at  Newark;  but  the  fall  of  Forts 
Washington  and  Lee,  together  with  the  diminution 
of  his  own  strength  by  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
service  of  his  men,  obliged  him  to  retreat  rapidly 
across  New-Jersey  to  the  other  side  of  the  Dela 
ware,  followed  so  closely  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  that 
the  van  of  the  pursuers  was  often  engaged  with  the 
rear  of  the  pursued. 

In  addition  to  this  succession  of  disasters,  Sir 
Guy  Carleton  had  appeared  upon  Lake  Champlain 
with  a  flotilla  superior  to  that  of  the  Americans  un 
der  General  Arnold,  and  which  seemed  to  have  been 
called  into  existence  as  if  by  enchantment.  Two 
naval  engagements  followed,  on  the  llth  and  13th 
of  October,  contested  with  undaunted  bravery,  but 
resulting  in  the  defeat  of  Arnold,  the  annihilation 
of  his  flotilla,  and  the  possession  of  the  lake  and 
Crown  Point  by  the  foe.  Early  in  December  Rhode 
Island  also  fell  into  his  hands.  The  forces  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  at  the  same  time,  numbered 
only  from  two  to  three  thousand  men,  and  scarcely  H 

*  "  The  conduct  of  the  Jerseys  has  been  most  infamous.  Instead  of 
turning  out  to  defend  their  country,  and  affording  aid  to  our  army,  they 
are  making  submissions  as  fast  as  they  can.  If  the  Jerseys  had  given 
us  any  support,  we  might  have  made  a  stand  at  Hackensack,  and  after 
that  at  Brunswick  ;  but  the  few  militia  that  were  in  arms  disbanded 
themselves,  and  left  the  poor  remains  of  an  army  to  make  the  best  we 
could  of  it." — Letter  of  Washington  to  his  brother,  John  Avgustint 
Washington,  Nov.  18,  1776. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  153 

new  recruit  supplied  the  place  of  those  whose  terms 
of  service  were  expiring.  And  even  those  recruits 
that  were  furnished  were  so  badly  supplied  with  offi 
cers  as  almost  to  extinguish  the  hope  of  forming  an 
army  from  which  any  efficient  services  were  to  bo 
expected. 

Worse  than  all,  a  spirit  of  disaffection  was  rife  in 
the  States  of  New-York  and  New-Jersey,  which  not 
only  thwarted  the  purposes  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  but  threatened  the  most  lamentable  conse 
quences  to  the  cause.  Although  there  were  many 
stanch  Whigs  in  Albany  and  its  vicinity,  there  were 
many  vigilant  Loyalists  in  that  region,  who  continu 
ed  to  keep  in  correspondence  with  the  enemy  during 
nearly  the  whole  contest.  In  the  summer  of  this 
year.  General  Schuyler  had  detected  a  dangerous 
plot  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Albany,  and  apprehend 
ed  some  of  the  ringleaders.  During  the  operations 
of  the  army  in  tlje  autumn,  in  New- York  and  its 
neighbourhood,  it  was  only  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
that  large  portions  of  the  fluctuating  army  could  be 
kept  in  the  line  of  duty,  while  other  large  portions 
either  went  off  in  masses,  or  proved  unfaithful  while 
they  remained.  The  conduct  of  the  militia  at  Fort 
Washington  has  been  noted.  General  Greene  worte, 
on  the  5th  of  November,  that  the  New- York  militia, 
under  Colonel  Hawkes  Hay,  actually  refused  to  do 
duty.  They  said  General  Howe  had  promised  them 
peace,  liberty,  and  safety ;  and  that  was  all  they 
wanted. 

These  are  but  few  of  the  discouragements  under 
which  the  commander-in-chief  was  labouring.  To 
borrow  his  own  expressive  language  in  the  private 
letter  to  his  brother  cited  in  a  preceding  note,  "  You 
can  form  no  idea  of  the  perplexity  of  my  situation. 
No  man,  I  believe,  ever  had  a  greater  choice  of  dif 
ficulties,  and  less  means  to  extricate  himself  from 
them."  Nevertheless,  the  last  sun  of  that  year  did 
not  sink  behind  so  deep  a  cloud  of  gloom  as  had 


154  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

been  anticipated.  In  the  North,  General  Carleton, 
who  had  occupied  Crown  Point  after  the  defeat  of 
Arnold's  flotilla,  had  returned  to  Canada  without  at 
tempting  anything  farther  ;  and  before  the  close  of 
the  year,  the  commander-in-chief  had  the  satisfac 
tion  to  announce  that,  instead  of  imitating  the  bad 
example  of  others,  the  Continental  regiments  from 
the  Eastern  States  had  agreed  to  remain  six  weeks 
beyond  the  term  of  their  enlistment.  In  addition  to 
which,  were  the  bold  return  of  Washington  upon 
Trenton,  and  his  brilliant  victory  over  the  Hessian 
forces  at  that  place  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of 
December.  "  This  well-judged  and  successful  en 
terprise  revived  the  depressed  spirits  of  the  colo 
nists,  and  produced  an  immediate  and  happy  effect  in 
recruiting  the  American  army." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HAVING  secured  his  prisoners  on  the  Pennsylvania 
side  of  the  Delaware,  General  Washington  estab 
lished  himself  at  Trenton.  But  he  was  not  long 
permitted  its  undisturbed  possession.  Collecting 
his  forces,  Cornwallis  advanced  rapidly  on  the  capi 
tal  of  New-Jersey,  where  he  arrived  on  the  2d  of 
January.  Some  skirmishing  ensued  towards  even 
ing,  but  both  armies  encamped  for  the  night  without 
coming  to  a  general  engagement — being  separated 
only  by  Assumpinck  Creek — and  apparently  both 
expecting  a  battle  in  the  morning.  The  force  of  the 
enemy,  however,  was  too  great  to  render  it  safe 
for  the  American  commander-in-chief  to  hazard  an 
action.  By  an  adroit  and  masterly  movement, 
therefore,  leaving  his  fires  burning,  General  Wash 
ington  succeeded  in  getting  away  unperceived,  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  155 

throwing  himself  into  the  enemy's  rear.  The  battle 
and  victory  of  Princeton  followed,  and  the  Amer 
ican  army  moved  to  Morristown,  while  Cornwal- 
lis  hastened  back  to  New-Brunswick,  and  thence 
to  New- York,  the  different  detachments  of  British 
troops,  which  had  been  scattered  through  New- Jer 
sey,  being  at  all  points  discomfited. 

Returning  from  this  digression  to  the  Indian  rela 
tions  of  New- York,  there  is  one  event  to  be  noted, 
the  character  of  which  cannot  be  explained.  Among 
the  manuscripts  preserved  in  the  family  of  the  hero 
of  Oriskany,*  is  a  speech  from  the  Oneida  chiefs  to 
Colonel  Elmore,  the  officer  who,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  present  year,  was  in  the  command  of 
Fort  Schuyler,  announcing  the  final  extinguishment 
of  the  great  council  fire  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Onon- 
daga.  As  the  central  nation  of  the  confederacy, 
their  general  councils,  time  immemorial,  had  been 
holden  at  the  Onondaga  Castle,  at  which,  in  their 
own  figurative  language,  their  council  fire  was  ever 
kept  burning.  These  councils  assembled  annually 
to  discuss  the  exterior  relations,  and  all  matters  of 
national  concernment.  They  were  composed  of 
chiefs  delegated  from  each  member  of  the  federa 
tive  republic,  and  sometimes  numbered  as  many  as 
eighty  sachems  in  the  assembly.  By  what  means 
the  event  had  been  accomplished — whether  the  ca 
lamity  was  the  result  of  pestilence  or  war — the 
speech  of  the  Oneidas  does  not  inform  us  ;  although 
it  announces  the  fall  of  a  large  number  of  the  Onon 
daga  warriors,  in  connexion  with  the  catastrophe. 
Still,  the  transaction  is  veiled  in  darkness  so  thick 
as  to  baffle  investigation.  The  following  is  the 
speech : 


SPEECH  OF  THE  ONEIDA  CHIEFS  TO  COL.  ELMORE. 

"  Fort  Schuyler,  Jan 

R — We   are    sent  here  by  tl 

*  Colonel,  afterward  General  Herkimer. 


"  Fort  Schuyler,  Jan.  19th,  1777. 

"  BROTHER — We   are    sent  here   by  the    Oneida 


156  BORDER  WARS    OF    THE 

chiefs,  in  conjunction  with  the  Onondagas.  They 
arrived  at  our  village  yesterday.  They  gave  us  the 
melancholy  news  that  the  grand  council  fire  at 
Onondaga  was  extinguished.  We  have  lost  out  ol 
their  town  by  death  ninety,  among  whom  are  three 
principal  sachems.  We,  the  remaining  part  of  the 
Onondagas,  do  now  inform  our  brethren  that  there 
is  no  longer  a  council  fire  at  the  capital  of  the  Six 
Nations.  However,  we  are  determined  to  use  our 
feeble  endeavours  to  support  peace  through  the  con 
federate  nations.  But  let  this  be  kept  in  mind,  that 
the  council  fire  is  extinguished.  It  is  of  impor 
tance  to  our  well-being  that  this  be  immediately 
communicated  to  General  Schuyler,  and  likewise  to 
our  brothers  the  Mohawks.  In  order  to  effect  this, 
we  deposite  this  belt  with  Tekeyanedonhotte,  Colo 
nel  Elmore,  commander  at  Fort  Schuyler,  who  is 
sent  here  by  General  Schuyler  to  transact  all  mat 
ters  relative  to  peace.  We  therefore  request  him 
to  forward  this  intelligence,  in  the  first  place,  to  Gen 
eral  Herkimer,  desiring  him  to  communicate  it  to 
the  Mohawk  Castle  near  to  him,  and  then  to  Major 
Fonda,  requesting  him  to  immediately  communicate 
it  to  the  Lower  Castle  of  Mohawks.  Let  the  belt 
then  be  forwarded  to  General  Schuyler,  that  he 
may  know  that  our  council  fire  is  extinguished,  and 
can  no  longer  burn." 

This  singular  document  is  worthy  of  preservation, 
not  only  as  the  authentic,  but  as  the  only  account 
of  the  occurrence  recorded.  It  contains  a  mystery, 
however,  which  cannot  now  be  solved.  Still,  as  no 
belligerant  events  are  known  to  have  been  enacted 
in  the  Onondaga  country  during  that  winter,  the 
most  plausible  conjecture  would  attribute  the  mor 
tality  indicated  in  the  speech  to  some  pestilential 
disorder,  which  might  have  swept  over  them,  as 
with  the  Schoharie  canton  eighteen  months  before. 

In  the  county  of  Tryon,  which  now  demands  our 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  157 

chief  attention,  great  uneasiness  was  again  awaken 
ed  among  the  inhabitants  towards  the  close  of  the 
winter,  especially  in  the  remoter  settlements  south 
of  the  Mohawk,  by  the  reported  gathering  of  the 
Indians  at  Oghkwaga.  The  fact  that  their  numbers 
were  increasing  at  that  point  having  been  satisfacto 
rily  ascertained,  Colonel  John  Harper,  of  Harpers- 
field,  was  despatched  thither  by  the  Provincial  Con 
gress  of  New- York  to  ascertain  their  intentions. 
Taking  every  necessary  measure  of  precaution  to 
guard  against  surprise,  and  to  be  ready  for  any  emer 
gency,  by  having  the  officers  of  his  militia  regiment 
on  the  alert,  Colonel  Harper  departed  upon  his  mis 
sion,  accompanied  only  by  a  single  white  man  and 
one  Indian.  He  arrived  on  the  27th  of  February, 
and  was  well  received  by  the  Indians,  who  manifest 
ed  a  perfectly  friendly  disposition  towards  himself, 
and  also  towards  the  settlements.  So  far  from  ex 
hibiting  any  belligerant  intentions,  they  expressed 
their  sorrow  for  the  troubles  of  the  country,  and  de 
clared  their  determination  to  take  no  part  in  the 
controversy.  Satisfied  as  to  the  sincerity  of  their 
professions,  although  subsequent  events  proved  that 
they  must  have  been  dissembling,  Colonel  Harper 
supplied  the  means  of  a  festival,  and  presented  them 
with  an  ox,  which  was  roasted  for  the  occasion. 

Colonel  John  Harper  was  one  of  four  brothers, 
William,  John,  Alexander,  and  Joseph  Harper,  who, 
with  eighteen  others,  planted  themselves  upon  a 
tract  of  country,  in  1768,  which  was  subsequently 
named  Harpersfield.  After  his  return  from  this 
mission,  he  was  for  a  time  in  command  of  one  of 
;he  little  forts  in  Schoharie.  On  one  occasion,  in 
March  or  April  of  this  year,  he  took  a  circuit  alone 
from  Schoharie  through  the  woods  to  Harpersfield, 
and  thence,  when  returning,  struck  farther  to  the 
westward,  towards  the  head  waters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna.  While  ascending  a  hill,  he  suddenly  saw  a 
company  of  Indians  approaching.  As  they  1  .ad  die- 


158  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

covered  him,  any  attempt  to  fly  would  have  been  in 
vain.  They  would  have  shot  him  down.  Having 
a  greatcoat  over  his  military  dress,  he  fnade  no  at 
tempt  to  avoid  a  meeting,  and,  in  passing,  the  colo 
nel  and  the  Indians  exchanged  salutations.  In  one 
of  the  Indians  he  recognised  Peter,  a  Mohawk  whom 
he  had  formerly  seen  at  Oghkwaga.  They  did  not 
recognise  him,  however,  but  from  his  manner  of 
speech  supposed  him  to  be  a  Loyalist,  and,  under 
that  impression,  communicated  to  him  the  fact  that 
their  destination  was  to  cut  off  "  the  Johnstone  set 
tlement,"  a  small  Scotch  colony  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Susquehanna,  near  Unadilla,  or  Anaqua- 
qua,  as  that  place  was  sometimes  called.  Having 
obtained  this  information,  he  changed  his  course, 
and,  hurrying  back  to  Harpersfield,  collected  fifteen 
resolute  men,  with  whom  he  gave  chase  to  the  ma 
rauders.  In  addition  to  their  arms,  the  colonel 
caused  each  man  of  his  little  band  to  provide  him 
self  with  two  days'  provisions  and  a  rope.  In  the 
course  of  the  following  night,  in  descending  the  val 
ley  of  the  Charlotte  River,  they  descried  the  fire 
where  the  Indians  were  encamped.  Halting  for  a 
while  to  refresh  and  prepare  for  the  contest,  the 
colonel  and  his  men  now  stole  upon  the  foe  with 
the  utmost  caution.  It  was  almost  daylight,  and 
the  Indians  were  in  a  profound  slumber,  their  arms 
being  stacked  in  the  middle  of  their  little  encamp 
ment.  These  were  carefully  removed  by  Harper 
and  his  party,  as  a  measure  of  precaution.  The 
moment  for  action  having  arrived,  the  cords  were 
made  ready,  and  every  Indian,  ere  he  was  well 
awake,  found  himself  bound  and  in  the  grasp  of  a 
foe.  When  it  became  light  in  the  morning,  Peter 
discovered  his  captor.  t;  Ugh  !"  he  exclaimed  : 
"  Colonel  Harper !  why  did  1  not  know  you  yes 
terday  V'  The  gallant  colonel  proceeded  to  Albany 
with  his  prisoners,  and  surrendered  them  to  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  station.  It  was  a  bold 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  159 

and  well-executed  achievement,  and  all  the  better 
that  it  was  bloodless. 

Although,  as  we  have  seen,  Colonel  Harper  had 
parted  from  the  Indians  at  Oghkwaga  upon  the  most 
amicable  terms,  yet  indications  of  a  different  temper 
were  soon  afterward  manifested  by  this  fickle  peo 
ple,  of  which  the  movement  of  Peter,  so  opportunely 
discovered  and  intercepted,  was  the  first  outbreak. 
Thayendanegea,  likewise,  appeared  among  them  in 
the  course  of  the  spring,  having  separated  from  Guy 
Johnson,  between  whom  and  himself  some  difficulty 
had  occurred.  Intelligence  of  the  chieftain's  depar 
ture  from  Canada,  and  march  across  the  country  to 
Oghkwaga  with  a  large  body  of  warriors,  was  re 
ceived  by  the  Tryon  County  Committee  early  in 
May  from  Fort  Schuyler,  and  communicated  to  the 
Provincial  Congress  by  its  chairman,  Isaac  Paris. 
Not  a  little  additional  uneasiness  was  also  occasion 
ed,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  spirit  discernible  among 
the  Tories.  Many  of  those  Loyalists  who  had  ta 
ken  their  departure  the  preceding  year  with  Sir 
John  Johnson  had,  nevertheless,  left  their  wives  and 
children  in  the  remote  settlements,  with  whom  they 
were  evidently  in  communication;  while  scouting 
parties,  both  of  Tories  and  Indians,  were  hovering 
on  the  northern  outskirts  of  the  county. 

The  presence  of  the  crafty  chieftain  at  Oghkwaga 
did  not  improve  the  pacific  disposition  of  the  natives, 
as  will  appear  in  the  sequel,  although  Brant  himself 
had  not,  thus  far,  committed  any  act  of  hostility  with 
in  the  province  of  New-York.  The  fact  of  his  hav 
ing  borne  a  part  in  the  battle  of  the  Cedars  seems, 
moreover,  not  to  have  been  known  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  since  they  were  yet  uncertain  whether  it 
was  his  intention  to  raise  the  hatchet  in  the  contest 
or  not. 

But  these  uncertainties  were  not  of  long  duration. 
In  the  month  of  June,  1777,  the  chief  of  the  Mohawks 
ascended  the  Susquehanna  from  Oghkwaga  to  Una- 


160  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

dilla,  attended  by  seventy  or  eighty  of  his  warriors, 
and  requested  an  interview  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  John- 
stone  and  the  officers  of  the  militia  of  the  neigh 
bourhood.  He  stated  that  the  object  of  his  visit 
was  to  procure  provisions,  of  which  his  people  were 
greatly  in  want.  And  such  were  their  necessities, 
that,  if  peaceable  means  would  not  answer,  the  In 
dians  must  obtain  them  by  force. 

Advantage  was  taken  of  the  interview  to  sound 
the  chief  as  to  his  future  intentions — whether  he 
was  for  peace  or  for  war ;  and  his  answers  were  far 
less  difficult  of  solution  than  the  riddle  of  the 
Sphinx.  He  complained  of  the  ill-treatment  which, 
as  he  alleged,  some  of  the  Mohawks,  who  had  re 
mained  behind  on  the  flight  of  the  majority  of  the 
nation,  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Whigs. 
The  Mohawks,  he  said,  were  as  free  as  the  air  they 
breathed,  and  were  determined  to  remain  so  :  and 
they  could  not  brook  it  that  any  of  their  brethren 
should  be  seized  and  imprisoned,  as  had  been  the 
case  at  the  Castle.*  These,  he  demanded,  should 
be  set  at  liberty,  and  suffered  to  remove  from  the 
country.  In  regard  to  the  question  of  peace  or  war, 
he  said  the  Mohawks  were  always  warriors ;  that 
their  agreement  with  the  king  was  very  strong,  and 
they  were  not  such  villains  as  to  break  their  cove 
nant. 

The  visit  continued  two  days,  during  which  time 
the  Indians  were  well  supplied  with  provisions,  and 
on  their  departure  permitted  to  take  away  some  live 
cattle  and  sheep.  The  inhabitants,  however,  scat 
tered  and  few,  and  quite  remote  from  any  consider 
able  settlement,  no  longer  feeling  themselves  safe 
in  their  houses,  sought  protection  in  places  of  great 
er  security — principally  in  Cherry  Valley,  the  place 
of  their  first  location,  whence  they  had  removed,  a 
few  years  before,  into  the  vale  of  the  Susquehanna. 

*  Probably  on  suspicion  of  maintaining  correspondence  with  the  en« 
emy. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  161 

Some  of  the  scattered  settlers  in  the  Unadilla  region 
fled  to  the  German  Flatts,  and  others,  probably,  to 
the  older  towns  upon  the  Hudson. 

The  Indian  forces  of  Captain  Brant  continuing  to 
increase  at  Oghkwaga,  and  the  anxiety  of  the  people 
becoming  greater  with  every  report  from  that  quar 
ter,  General  Herkimer  determined  to  repair  thither 
and  obtain  an  interview.  For  this  purpose  the  gen 
eral  despatched  a  messenger  to  that  place,  and  in 
vited  the  chief  to  meet  him  at  Unadilla ;  moving  for 
ward  himself,  at  the  same  time,  at  the  head  of  about 
three  hundred  of  the  local  militia,  from  the  regi 
ments  of  Colonels  Cox,  Klock,  and  Isenlord,  well 
armed  and  provided.  The  precise  object  of  the  gen 
eral  in  seeking  this  interview  with  Brant  remains 
to  this  day  more  a  matter  of  conjecture  than  of  cer 
tainty.  The  few  scattered  fragments  of  Herkimer's 
correspondence  which  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  writer  show  that  it  was  no  sudden  movement ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  that  General  Schuyler,  Colonel 
Van  Schaick,  Colonel  Harper,  and  others,  were  con 
sulted  upon  the  subject.  On  the  application  of  Her 
kimer,  Colonel  Van  Schaick  was  detached  to  his  as 
sistance,  on  the  15th  of  June,  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  with  which  force  he  repaired  to  Cherry 
Valley,  but  could  proceed  no  farther,  for  want  of 
provisions.  General  Schuyler  was  also  to  repair 
thither  in  person,  in  the  event  of  his  presence  being 
deemed  necessary.  Ostensibly,  the  expedition  was 
one  of  peace ;  but  the  extent  of  the  preparations, 
and  the  physical  strength  of  the  expedition,  impart 
ed  an  equivocal  character  to  the  movement ;  not 
more  so,  however,  than  was  the  conduct  of  Brant 
luring  the  whole  spring,  since  his  proceedings  were 
such  as  to  keep  the  minds  of  the  people  in  a  state  of 
everish  excitement  and  uncertainty.  Thus,  on  the 
10th  of  June,  Colonel  Harper  wrote  urgently  to 
General  Herkimer  for  a  supply  of  ammunition,  in 
•he  expectation  of  an  immediate  hostile  irruption  of 

VOL.  I.— N 


162  BORDER   WARS    OF   THE 

Brant  into  the  valley  of  the  Schoharie  Kill.  On  the 
13th,  the  Cherry  Valley  Committee  wrote  to  the 
general  a  still  more  alarming  letter.  Brant,  accord* 
ing  to  this  statement,  in  connexion  with  some  of 
the  Loyalists  of  Unadilla,  had  marked  a  path  direct 
ly  through  the  forest  to  ./Esopus,  by  which  route  the 
Tories  of  Ulster  and  Orange  counties  were  to  join 
his  forces  at  Oghkwaga ;  at  which  place  the  chief 
had  vaunted  that  shortly  he  would  not  fear  the  ap 
proach  of  three  thousand  men.  On  the  other  hand, 
Major  Fonda  wrote,  on  the  19th  of  June,  that  an  em 
bassy  of  chiefs  and  sachems  of  the  Cayuga  and  Sen 
eca  nations,  having  repaired  to  Oghkwaga  to  re 
monstrate  with  Thayendanegea  against  farther  hos 
tilities,  the  latter  had  determined  to  listen  to  their 
councils,  and  withdraw  into  the  Cayuga  country.  In 
pursuance  of  this  policy,  it  was  added,  on  what  was 
esteemed  good  authority,  that  the  Mohawk  chief 
had  released  a  prisoner  with  his  own  hands,  telling 
the  captors  that  they  had  acted  wrong. 

Such  was  the  uncertain  condition  of  things  when 
the  expedition  under  consideration  was  commenced. 
Brant  and  Herkimer  had  been  near  neighbours  and 
personal  friends  before  the  troubles  came  on,  and  it 
is  possible  the  general  still  cherished  a  belief  that 
he  might  yet  detach  the  dusky  warrior  from  the 
cause  he  had  embraced,  but.  nevertheless,  might  not 
be  disinclined  to  relinquish.  Perhaps  he  designed 
nothing  more  than  to  drive  him  from  his  equivocal 
position.  Perhaps,  also,  should  opportunity  be  pre 
sented,  it  was  his  intention  to  seize  his  person. 
But  be  these  suppositions  as  they  may,  it  will  be 
seen  that  there  was  at  least  one  moment  in  which 
he  contemplated  a  more  decisive  course. 

It  was  a  full  week  after  the  arrival  of  General 
Herkimer  at  Unadilla  before  Captain  Brant  made 
his  appearance.  He  came  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  general's  encampment,  accompanied  by  five 
hundred  warriors.  Having  halted,  he  despatched  a 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  163 

runner  to  General  Heikirner  with  a  message,  desi 
ring  to  be  informed  of  the  object  of  his  visit.  Gen 
eral  Herkimer  replied  iaat  he  had  merely  come  to 
see  and  converse  witi.  ins  brother.  Captain  Brant. 
The  quick-witted  messenger  inquired  if  all  those 
men  wished  to  talk  to  his  chief  too.  However,  he 
said  to  the  general  that  lit  would  carry  his  talk  back 
to  his  chief;  but  he  charged  him  that  he  must  not 
cross  the  field  upon  the  margin  of  which  they  were 
standing,  and  departed.  But  an  arrangement  was 
soon  made,  through  the  agency  of  messengers,  by 
which  a  meeting  was  effected.  The  scene  exhibit 
ed  at  this  interview,  as  related  by  those  who  were 
present  at  it,  was  novel  and  imposing.  The  hostile 
parties  were  now  encamped  within  the  distance  of 
two  miles  from  each  other.  About  midway  between 
their  encampments  a  temporary  shed  was  erected, 
sufficiently  extensive  to  allow  some  two  hundred 
persons  to  be  seated.  By  mutual  stipulation,  their 
arms  were  to  be  left  in  their  respective  encamp 
ments.  Soon  after  the  adjustment  of  the  prelimina 
ries  and  the  completion  of  the  fixtures  above  men 
tioned,  the  chief  of  the  Mohawks  appeared  in  the 
edge  of  the  distant  forest  and  approached  the  place 
designated,  already  in  the  occupation  of  Herkimer, 
somewhat  warily,  accompanied  by  Captain  Bull  (a 
Tory),  William  Johnson  (son  of  Sir  William,  by 
Brant's  sister  Mary),  a  subordinate  chief  of  the  Mo 
hawks,  an  Indian  woman,  and  about  forty  warriors. 
After  some  little  parleying,  a  circle  was  formed  by 
General  Herkimer,  into  which  Brant  and  the  gener 
al  entered,  together  with  the  other  Indian  chief  and 
two  of  Herkimer's  officers.  After  the  interchange 
of  a  few  remarks,  the  chieftain,  keeping  an  eagle 
eye  upon  his  visiter,  inquired  the  reason  of  his  be 
ing  thus  honoured.  General  Herkimer  replied  as 
he  had  done  to  the  avant-courier,  that  he  had  come 
to  see  him  on  a  friendly  visit.  "  And  all  these  have 
come  on  a  friendly  visit  tool"  replied  the  chief. 


164  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

"  All  want  to  see  the  poor  Indians  ;  it  is  very  kind," 
he  added,  with  a  sarcastic  curl  of  the  lip.  General 
Herkimer  expressed  a  desire  to  go  forward  to  the 
village,  but  the  chief  told  him  he  was  quite  neir 
enough,  and  that  he  must  not  proceed  any  farther. 

The  general  next  endeavoured  to  enter  into  a  con 
versation  with  the  Mohawk  touching  the  difficulties 
with  England,  in  order  to  ascertain  his  feelings  and 
intentions.  The  conference  now  became  earnest 
and  animated,  although  the  chief  at  first  gave  Her 
kimer  evasive  answers.  To  a  question,  however, 
put  to  him  directly,  he  finally  replied,  "  That  the  In 
dians  were  in  concert  with  the  king,  as  their  fa 
thers  had  been  ;  that  the  king's  belts  were  yet  lodg 
ed  with  them,  and  they  could  not  violate  their 
pledge ;  that  General  Herkimer  and  his  followers 
had  joined  the  Boston  people  against  their  sovereign  ; 
that,  although  the  Boston  people  were  resolute,  the 
king  would  humble  them ;  that  General  Schuyler 
was  very  smart  on  the  Indians  at  the  treaty  of  Ger 
man  Flatts,  but,  at  the  same  time,  was  not  able  to  af 
ford  the  smallest  article  of  clothing  ;  and,  finally, 
that  the  Indians  had  formerly  made  war  on  the 
white  people  when  they  were  all  united;  and,  as 
they  were  now  divided,  the  Indians  were  not  fright 
ened." 

Colonel  Cox,  who  was  in  the  suite  of  General 
Herkimer,  then  made  a  few  remarks,  the  substance 
of  which  was,  that  if  such  was  the  fixed  determina 
tion  of  the  Indians,  nothing  farther  need  be  said. 
But  his  manner,  or  some  of  the  expressions  uttered 
by  the  colonel,  which  have  not  been  preserved,  gave 
offence  to  the  chief.  He  was  exceedingly  irritated  ; 
and,  by  a  signal  to  the  warriors  attending  him  at  a 
short  distance,  they  ran  back  to  their  encampment, 
and  soon  afterward  appeared  again  with  their  rifles, 
several  of  which  were  discharged,  while  the  shrill 
war-whoop  rang  through  the  forest.  Meantime, 
however,  by  explanations  or  otherwise,  the  chief 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  165 

was  soothed  and  his  warriors  were  kept  at  a  proper 
distance,  although  the  demand  of  General  Herkimer 
for  the  surrender  of  sundry  Tories  was  peremptorily 
refused.  The  conference  ended  by  an  agreement 
between  the  parties  to  meet  again  at  9  o'clock  the 
following  morning.  General  Herkimer  and  his 
forces,  forbidden  to  advance  any  farther,  encamped 
as  before. 

The  next  morning  General  Herkimer  called  one 
of  his  most  trusty  men  aside,  Joseph  Waggoner  by 
name,  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  to  him  a 
matter  of  great  importance,  respecting  which  the 
most  profound  secrecy  was  enjoined.  He  then  in 
formed  Waggoner  that  he  had  selected  him  and 
three  others  to  perform  a  high  and  important  duty, 
requiring  promptness,  courage,  and  decision.  His 
design,  the  general  said,  was  to  take  the  lives  of 
Brant  and  his  three  attendants  on  the  renewal  of 
their  visit  that  morning.  For  this  purpose,  he  should 
rely  upon  Waggoner  and  his  three  associates,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  chief  and  his  friends  within  the 
circle  as  on  the  preceding  day,  each  to  select  his 
man,  and,  at  a  concerted  signal,  shoot  them  down 
upon  the  spot.  There  is  something  so  revolting — 
so  rank  and  foul — in  this  project  of  meditated  treach 
ery,  that  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  it  with  the  known 
character  of  General  Herkimer.  And  yet  it  is  giv 
en  on  the  written  authority  of  Waggoner  himself, 
Avhose  character  was  equally  respectable.  The  pa 
triotic  veteran,  in  devising  such  a  scheme,  had 
probably  reasoned  himself  into  the  belief  that  the- 
intended  victims  were  only  Indians,  and  thai  in  the 
emergency  of  the  country  it  would  be  justifiable  to 
do  evil  that  good  might  come.  It  was,  however,  a 
most  reprehensible  scheme.  Indian  that  he  was, 
there  is  no  known  act  of  perfidy  chargeable  upon 
£rant ;  and  he  had  met  Herkimer  on  his  own  invi 
tation.  A  betrayal  of  his  confidence,  under  those 
circumstances,  \vould  have  brought  a  stain  upon  the 


166  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

character  of  the  Provincials,  which  all  the  waters 
of  the  Mohawk  could  not  have  washed  away. 

Fortunately,  however,  the  design  was  not  carried 
into  execution.  Whether  the  wary  chieftain  enter 
tained  any  suspicions  of  foul  play,  is  not  known. 
But  certain  it  is,  that  his  precaution  and  his  bearing, 
when  he  arrived  at  Herkimer's  quarters,  were  such 
as  to  frustrate  the  purpose.  As  he  entered  the 
circle,  attended  as  before,  he  drew  himself  up  with 
dignity,  and  addressed  General  Herkimer  as  fol 
lows  :  k'  I  have  five  hundred  warriors  with  me, 
armed  and  ready  for  battle.  You  are  in  my  power ; 
but  as  we  have  been  friends  and  neighbours,  I  will 
not  take  the  advantage  of  you."  At  a  signal,  a  host 
of  his  armed  warriors  darted  forth  from  the  con 
tiguous  forest,  all  painted  and  ready  for  the  on 
slaught,  as  the  well-known  war-whoop  but  too 
clearly  proclaimed.  The  chief  continued  the  dis 
course  by  advising  the  general  to  go  back  to  his 
own  home ;  thanked  him  for  his  civility  in  coming 
thus  far  to  see  him,  and  told  him  that  perhaps  he 
might  one  day  return  the  compliment.  Meantime, 
he  said  he  would  go  back  to  his  village,  and  for  the 
present,  the  general  might  rest  assured  that  no  hos 
tilities  should  be  committed  by  the  Indians.  He 
then  requested  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stuart,  the  English 
missionary  at  Fort  Hunter,  might  be  permitted  to 
retire  into  Canada,  as  also  the  wife  of  Colonel  But 
ler.  To  these  requests  General  Herkimer  assented, 
although  the  latter  was  not  complied  with.  He 
•then  presented  the  Indians  with  ten  or  a  dozen 
heads  of  cattle,  which  they  fell  upon  and  slaughter 
ed  incontinently.  Brant  himself  turned  proudly 
away,  and  buried  himself  in  the  forest ;  while  Gen 
eral  Herkimer  struck  his  tents,  and  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk. 

This  was  the  last  conference  held  with  the  hos 
tile  Mohawks.  Their  chief  very  soon  afterward 
drew  off  his  warriors  from  the  Susquehanna,  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  167 

united  them  to  the  forces  of  Sir  John  Johnson  and 
Colonel  John  Butler,  who  were  concentrating  the 
Tories  and  refugees  at  Oswego.  It  was  at  about 
the  same  period  that  the  officers  of  the  British  In 
dian  department  had  summoned  a  general  council 
of  the  Six  Nations,  to  be  held  at  that  place  ;  and  it 
is  probable  that  Brant  arrived  at  the  post  with  his 
warriors  for  that  occasion.  According  to  Ramsay, 
the  invitations  to  this  council  were  sent  forth  by 
Guy  Johnson,  the  Indians  being  requested  to  as 
semble  "  to  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  a 
Bostonian."  This  language  was  understood  figura 
tively,  however — the  roasting  of  an  ox  and  a  ban 
quet  being  intended. 

The  discussions  were  protracted,  nor  were  the 
entreaties  of  the  commissioners  of  any  avail  against 
the  resolution  of  the  Indians  to  maintain  their  good 
faith,  until  they  addressed  their  avarice,  "  by  telling 
them  that  the  people  of  the  colonies  were  few  in 
number,  and  would  be  easily  subdued ;  and  that,  on 
account  of  their  disobedience  to  the  king,  they 
justly  merited  all  the  punishment  that  it  was  pos 
sible  for  white  men  and  Indians  to  inflict  upon  them. 
The  king,"  they  said,  "  was  rich  and  powerful,  both 
in  money  and  subjects.  His  rum  was  as  plenty  as 
the  water  in  Lake  Ontario,  and  his  men  as  numer 
ous  as  the  sands  upon  its  shore ;  and  the  Indians 
were  assured  that,  if  they  would  assist  in  the  war, 
and  persevere  in  their  friendship  for  the  king  until 
its  close,  they  should  never  want  for  goods  or  mon 
ey."  Overcome  by  their  persevering  importuni 
ties,  and  by  more  direct  and  palpable  appeals  to 
their  senses,  in  a  rich  display  of  tawdry  articles 
calculated  to  please  their  fancies,  the  Indians  proved 
recreant  to  their  plighted  faith  to  the  colonies,  and 
concluded  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  .Great  Britain, 
binding  themselves  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against 
the  rebels,  and  continue  in  his  majesty's  service  un 
til  they  were  subdued. 


168  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

At  the  close  of  the  treaty,  each  Indian  was  pre 
sented  with  a  suit  of  clothes,  a  brass  kettle,  a  gun, 
a  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  a  quantity  of  am 
munition,  a  piece  of  gold,  and  the  promise  of  a 
bounty  upon  every  scalp  they  should  bring  in. 
"  Thus  richly  clad  and  equipped,  the  Indians  return 
ed  to  their  respective  homes,  after  an  absence  of 
about  two  weeks,  full  of  the  fire  of  war,  and  anxious 
to  encounter  their  (new-made)  enemies." 

From  that  day  Thayendanegea  was  the  acknowl 
edged  chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  soon  became 
one  of  the  master-spirits  of  the  motley  forces  em 
ployed  by  Great  Britain  in  her  attempts  to  recover 
the  Mohawk  Valley,  and  to  annoy  the  other  settle 
ments  of  what  then  constituted  the  Northwestern 
frontier.  Whether  in  the  conduct  of  a  campaign 
or  of  a  scouting-party,  in  the  pitched  battle  or  the 
foray,  this  crafty  and  dauntless  chieftain  was  sure 
to  be  one  of  the  most  efficient — as  he  was  one  of 
the  bravest — of  those  who  were  engaged.  Com 
bining  with  the  native  hardihood  and  sagacity  of  his 
race  the  advantages  of  education  and  of  civilized 
life — in  acquiring  which,  he  had  lost  nothing  of  his 
activity  or  his  power  of  endurance — he  became  the 
most  formidable  border  foe  with  whom  the  Provin 
cials  had  to  contend,  and  his  name  was  a  terror  to 
the  land.  His  movements  were  at  once  so  secret 
and  so  rapid,  that  he  seemed  almost  to  be  clothed 
with  the  power  of  ubiquity. 

The  first  of  his  hostile  demonstrations  within  the 
colony  of  New- York  is  believed  to  have  been  made 
in  the  month  of  May  preceding  the  interview  with 
General  Herkimer ;  although,  from  the  semi-pacific 
intercourse  maintained  with  him  for  several  weeks 
longer,  the  fact  was  not  then  certainly  known.  The 
settlement  of  Cherry  Valley  was  commenced  in 
1739  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  some  threatened  In 
dian  troubles,  a  detachment  of  troops  had  been 
stationed  there  as  early  as  1763.  But  no  military 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  169 

works  were  erected,  and  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  found  the  place  defenceless. 
While  Brant  was  collecting  his  warriors  at  Ogh- 
kwaga,  however,  the  inhabitants  bethought  them 
selves  of  the  necessity  of  defences.  But  not  hav 
ing  the  means  to  undertake  the  erection  of  any 
formidable  work,  the  house  of  Colonel  Samuel 
Campbell  was  selected  as  the  largest,  strongest,  and 
most  eligibly  situated  for  military  purposes.  A 
rude  embankment  of  logs  and  earth  was  thrown  up 
around  this  building,  so  extended  in  its  dimensions 
as  likewise  to  include  two  large  barns.  These 
buildings  were  all  strengthened,  and  provided  with 
doors  and  window-shutters  bullet-proof.  Small  block 
houses  were  also  erected  within  the  enclosure  ;  and 
to  this  place,  in  moments  of  peril  and  alarm,  the  in 
habitants  fled  for  protection.  Martial  law  was  pro 
claimed,  and  no  persons  were  allowed  either  to 
enter  or  leave  the  settlement  without  permission. 

Towards  the  close  of  May,  and  soon  after  these 
precautionary  measures  had  been  executed,  Brant 
conceived  the  idea  of  making  a  descent  upon  the 
settlement,  for  the  purpose  of  either  killing  or  ma 
king  captive  the  principal  inhabitants,  especially  the 
vigilant  members  of  the  committee,  it  has  been 
stated  in  a  former  page  that,  among  the  precaution 
ary  measures  adopted  the  preceding  year,  the  ex 
empts  from  military  duty  had  organized  themselves 
into  a  volunteer  company.  The  martial  fever,  of 
course,  descended  from  sire  to  son  ;  and  as  the  popu 
lation  had  been  considerably  augmented  by  the  ar 
rival  of  distant  settlers  for  safety,  a  goodly  number 
of  boys  were  collected,  who  formed  a  corps  of  ca 
dets,  with  no  better  armour  than  wooden  swords  and 
guns.  These  juvenile  soldiers  happened  to  be  pa 
rading  upon  the  esplanade  in  front  of  Colonel  Camp 
bell's  house  at  the  very  hour,  one  bright  sunny 
morning,  when  Brant  and  his  party  of  warriors,  who 
had  secretly  arrived  from  Oghkwaga,  were  recon- 

VOL.  I.— O 


170  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

noitring  the  post  under  shelter  of  a  tangled  thicket 
skirting  the  brow  of  a  hill  about  a  mile  distant.  His 
vision  being  somewhat  obstructed  by  the  intercept 
ing  shrubbery,  the  chief  mistook  the  lads  for  bona 
fide  soldiers.  Observing  the  semblance  of  a  forti 
fication  before  described,  Captain  Brant  moved  his 
party  to  a  convenient  lurking-place  near  the  road 
leading  to  the  Mohawk  River,  and  there  lay  in  am 
bush  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  such  information 
as  might  chance  to  come  in  his  way.  A  short  dis 
tance  from  where  the  chief  lay  ensconced  behind  a 
large  rock,  "  the  road  wound  along^  near  the  edge 
of  a  cliff,  overhanging  a  rocky  glen  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  deep.  This  chasm  was  shaded  by 
evergreens,  and  the  whole  scene  was  shadowy,  and 
almost  dark,  even  at  midday.  The  wildness  of  the 
place  was  increased  by  the  dashing  of  a  mountain 
torrent  into  the  gloomy  abyss,  called  by  the  Indians 
the  Falls  of  Tekaharawa." 

It  chanced  that,  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  Lieu 
tenant  Wormwood,  a  promising  young  officer  from 
Palatine,  of  an  opulent  family,  had  been  despatched 
to  Cherry  Valley,  with  information  to  the  authori 
ties  that  a  detachment  from  Colonel  Klock's  regi 
ment  of  militia  was  to  march  to  their  defence  on 
the  following  day.  It  was  towards  evening  that 
Lieutenant  Wormwood  started  on  his  return  to  the 
Mohawk,  accompanied  by  the  bearer  of  some  de 
spatches,  named  Peter  Sitz.  As  he  mounted  his-  horse 
in  the  village,  he  threw  down  his  portmanteau,  re 
marking  that  he  need  not  to  take  it,  as  he  should  re 
turn  on  the  next  morning  with  his  company.  1I« 
was  well  mounted,  and  richly  dressed  ;>  in  a  suit  of 
:ish-coloured  velvet,  which  attracted  much  attention 
..luring  his  stay;"  and  many  persons  remained  at 
:,he  door,  looking  at  the  noble  bearing  of  the  young 
patriot,  until  he  disappeared  behind  the  crest  of  the 
hill  in  the  direction  of  the  Tekaharav/a.  Scarcely, 
aowever,  had  the  clattering  of  hoofs  died  away 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  171 

upon  their  ears,  before  a  discharge  of  musketry  re 
sounded  from  the  glen,  the  startling  report  being 
speedily  followed  by  the  soldier's  horse  returning 
at  full  speed,  the  saddle  crimsoned  with  blood. 
Suspicions  of  the  most  painful  description  at  once 
flashed  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  a  party 
was  immediately  despatched  to  investigate  the  cir 
cumstances.  They  returned  without  success  that 
night,  but  on  the  following  morning  the  body  of 
Wormwood  was  found  behind  the  rock  heretofore 
described,  scalped  and  lifeless.  It  afterward  ap 
peared  that,  as  Wormwood  and  Sitz  approached  the 
rock,  they  were  hailed,  but  instead  of  answering, 
they  put  spurs  to  their  horses  and  endeavoured  to 
pass.  Being  fired  upon,  Lieutenant  Wormwood 
fell  wounded,  as  did  the  horse  of  Sitz.  The  Indians 
rushed  forth  from  their  ambuscade,  and  Sitz  was 
made  prisoner,  while  the  gallant  officer  was  scalped 
by  Brant's  own  hand.  The  chief  is  said  to  have 
lamented  the  death  of  this  young  man.  They  were 
not  only  acquaintances,  but  friends  ;  and  lie  had 
been  fired  upon  under  the  supposition  that  he  was 
an  officer  of  the  Continental  army.  The  despatches 
carried  by  Sitz  were  double,  and  it  was  fortunate 
that  he  had  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  destroy 
the  genuine,  and  deliver  the  delusive  papers  to  his 
savage  captors.  Deceived  thereby  as  to  the  real 
strength  at  Cherry  Valley,  Brant  retired  without 
committing  any  farther  act  of  hostility.  Colonel 
Klock  arrived  at  Cherry  Valley  on  the  following 
morning,  accompanied  by  the  afflicted  father  of  the 
slaughtered  officer,  who  was  mourned  and  wept  by 
all  who  knew  him. 

Another  coincident  event,  forming  an  appropriate 
conclusion  to  the  present  chapter,  was  the  tragic 
death  of  the  great  Shawanese  chief,  Cornslock,  with 
his  gallant  son,  Ellimpsico ;  both  of  whom  will  be 
remembered  as  among  the  brave  Indian  leaders  at 
the  battle  of  the  Kanhawa,  the  last  action  of  the 


172  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Cresap  war,  in  1774 ;  and  both  of  whom  were  now 
as  basely  murdered  by  white  men  as  were  the  family 
of  Logan.  Cornstock,  after  the  defeat  of  his  war 
riors  at  Point  Pleasant,  and  his  subsequent  treaty  of 
peace  with  Lord  Dunmore,  had  become  sincerely 
and  truly  the  friend  of  the  colonies  ;  and  while  the 
Indians  of  the  Northwest,  generally,  were  preparing 
to  take  up  arms  with  the  English,  he  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  to  prevent  his  own  nation  from  any  par 
ticipation  in  the  contest.  But  the  influence  of  the 
British  agents,  and  the  example  of  the  surrounding 
Indian  nations,  were  so  powerful  upon  the  minds  of 
the  Shawanese,  that  Cornstock  perceived  his  pacific 
efforts  were  likely  to  prove  futile.  Thus  circum 
stanced,  he  repaired  to  the  fort  which  had  been 
erected  at  Point  Pleasant  after  the  battle  of  the 
Kanhawa,  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  officer  in 
command — Captain  Arbuckle — and  take  his  advice. 
He  was  accompanied  on  this  mission  by  a  young 
Delaware  chief  named  Redhawk,  who  had  also  fought 
by  his  side  in  the  Cresap  war.  Having  made  a  full 
development  of  the  state  of  Indian  affairs  in  the 
Northwest,  and  frankly  admitted  that,  from  the 
causes  already  indicated,  he  should  be  unable  to  pre 
vent  the  Shawanese  from  taking  up  the  hatchet  in 
the  cause  of  the  crown,  the  commander  of  the  fort 
deemed  it  expedient  to  detain  the  old  chief,  with  his 
Delaware  companion,  as  hostages  for  the  good  con 
duct  of  their  people.  Nor  did  they  remain  unwill 
ingly,  little  anticipating  the  fate  that  awaited  them, 
and  giving  all  the  information  respecting  the  In 
dians  and  their  country,  that  could  be  desired  by  the 
Americans. 

Uneasy  at  the  protracted  absence  of  his  father, 
Ellinipsico,  his  son,  went  in  pursuit,  and  traced  him 
to  the  fort,  where  they  had  an  affectionate  meeting. 
Unfortunately,  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  young 
warrior  at  Point  Pleasant,  two  white  men  having 
crossed  the  Kanhawa  on  a  hunting  expedition,  were 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  173 

fired  upon  by  some  straggling  Indians,  and  one  of 
them,  whose  name  was  Gilinore,  was  killed.  The 
other  escaped.  No  sooner  was  the  event  of  Gil- 
more's  deatli  known,  than  the  cry  of  revenge  was 
raised,  and  a  party  of  ruffians  assembled,  under  the 
command  of  a  Captain  Hall,  not  to  pursue  and  punish 
the  perpetrators  of  the  murder,  but  to  fall  upon  the 
friendly  and  peaceable  Indians  in  the  fort.  Arming 
themselves,  and  cocking  their  rifles,  they  proceeded 
directly  to  the  little  garrison,  menacing  death  to  any 
or  all  who  should  oppose  their  nefarious  designs. 
Some  friend  of  the  hostage-chiefs  attempted  to  ap 
prize  them  in  advance  of  the  approaching  danger ; 
but  the  savage  mob  were  probably  too  close  upon 
the  heels  of  the  messenger  to  allow  of  their  escape. 
At  the  sound  of  the  clamour  without,  Ellinipsico  is 
said  to  have  been  somewhat  agitated.  Not  so  the 
veteran  Cornstock.  He  had  too  often  grappled  with 
death  on  the  war-path  to  fear  his  approaches  now. 
Perceiving  the  emotion  of  his  son,  he  calmly  ob 
served,  "  My  son,  the  Great  Spirit  has  seen  Jit  that  ive 
should  die  together,  and  has  sent  you  to  that  end.  It 
is  his  will,  and  let  us  submit."  The  infuriated  mob 
had  now  gained  the  apartment  of  the  victims  ;  Corn- 
stock  fell,  perforated  with  seven  bullets,  and  died 
without  a  struggle.  The  son,  after  the  exhortation 
of  his  father,  met  his  fate  with  composure,  and  was 
shot  on  the  seat  upon  which  he  was  sitting.  Red- 
hawk,  the  young  Delaware,  died  with  less  fortitude. 
He  hid  himself  away,  but  was  discovered  and  slain. 
Another  friendly  Indian,  in  the  fort  at  the  time,  was 
likewise  killed,  and  his  body  mangled  by  the  barba 
rians  in  a  manner  that  would  have  disgraced  savages 
of  any  other  complexion. 

It  argues  a  sad  deficiency  of  military  discipline, 
that  such  a  foul  transaction  could  occur  at  any  reg 
ularly-established  post.  The  command  of  Arbuckle, 
however,  must  have  been  small,  inasmuch  as  he  was 
not  only  opposed  to  the  commission  of  the  outrage, 


174  BORDER  WARS   OF  THE 

but  sallied  forth,  in  company  with  another  captain, 
named  Stuart,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the 
ruffians,  and  preventing  the  execution  of  their  pur 
pose.  But  all  remonstrance  was  vain.  The  enraged 
assailants,  pale,  and  quivering  with  fury,  presented 
their  rifles  to  the  breasts  of  those  officers,  threaten 
ing  them  with  instant  death  if  they  stood  in  their  way. 
The  Indian  biography  of  our  country  supplies  but 
few  additional  facts  concerning  the  life  of  this  brave 
and  just  man.  He  had  a  son,  known  among  the 
whites  as  The  Wolf,  whose  name  was  somewhat 
conspicuously  associated  with  the  earlier  events  of 
the  Revolution.  The  Wolf,  with  three  others,  was 
a  hostage  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  at  the  time  of 
Lord  Dunmore's  embarcation  on  board  of  the  British 
fleet.  After  the  escape  of  his  lordship,  he  solicited 
and  obtained  an  interview  with  The  Wolf  and  his  as 
sociates  on  board  of  his  ship  ;  during  which  he  ex 
plained  to  them  the  causes  of  his  flight,  and  urged 
them  to  flee  also,  as  the  only  means  of  escaping  the 
fury  of  the  revolutionists.  Adopting  this  council, 
they  took  to  the  woods  on  returning  to  the  shore. 
The  night  following  came  on  excessively  dark.  One 
of  The  Wolf's  companions  separated  from  his  fel 
lows  and  was  lost.  The  others  soon  after  returned 
to  Williamsburg,  where  they  were  well  received  by 
the  inhabitants.  What  farther  befell  The  Wolf,  or 
the  house  of  Cornstock,  is  not  known. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HAVING  failed  in  their  efforts  to  extinguish  the  re 
bellion  during  the  preceding  year,  the  government 
of  the  parent  country  resolved  to  put  forth  still 
greater  energies  during  the  present.  For  this  pur- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  175 

pose,  a  powerful  force  was  organized  in  Canada,  the 
command  of  which  was  transferred  from  Sir  Guy 
Carleton — the  ablest  British  general,  by-the-way,  at 
that  time  or  subsequently   in  America — and  con 
ferred  upon  General  Burgoyne,  an  officer,  alsft,  of 
unquestioned  merit,  whose  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
thirst  for  military  glory  could  not  be  exceeded.     It 
was  the  aim  of  this  Northern  army  to  open  a  com 
munication  between  Canada  and  New- York,  thus 
cutting  off  New-England,  which  the  ministry  justly 
considered  the  hotbed  of  the  Revolution,  from  all 
communication  with  the  Middle  States ;  while  Sit 
William  Howe,  with  ail  army  of  16,000  men,  was  t» 
withdraw  from  New-Jersey,  and  move  round  Isimul 
taneously  to  the  Chesapeake,  and  take  possessioi 
of  the  Middle  States ;   and  thus,  as  it  was  hoped 
compel  the  whole  to  return  to  their  allegiance. 

Doubts,  however,  for  several  months  hung  over 
the  intentions  of  the  enemy,  whose  designs  were  so 
skilfully  veiled  as  for  a  long  time  almost  to  para 
lyze  the  exertions  of  the  Americans.  The  retreat 
of  Carleton  from  Lake  Champlain,  the  preceding 
autumn,  even  after  the  lake  was  in  his  power  and 
Crown  Point  in  kis  possession,  suggested  a  doubt 
whether  a  serious  invasion  was  meditated  from  that 
quarter.  On  the  contrary,  the  impression  was  gen 
eral  that  the  expedition  of  Burgoyne  was  destined 
against  Boston  ;  and  that  Sir  William  Howe,  whose 
movements  in  New-Jersey  were  enigmatical  to  per 
plexity,  was  taco-operate  in  an  effort  to  resubjugate 
New-England.  The  British  government  itself,  as  it 
is  believed,  ^contributed  to  the  distractions  of  Con 
gress  and  the  American  commander,  by  causing  re 
ports  to  be  circulated  that  Boston  was  to  be  the  next 
point  of  attack,  Arthur  Lee,  being  then  in  France, 
was  thus  confidentially  advised,  and  lost  no  time  in 
communicating  such  supposed  intention  to  the  Se 
cret  Committee  of  Congress,  who,  in  turn,  gave  the 
like  information  to  the  commajider-in-chief,  and  alsc 


176  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

to  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  The  conse 
quence  of  these  distractions  was  unfortunate  for  th& 
Americans.  Less  attention  was  paid  to  preparations 
for  the  defence  of  the  North  than  otherwise  would 
have  been  given ;  while  Massachusetts,  apprehend 
ing  that  all  her  strength  would  be  required  for  her 
own  defence,  set  about  raising  troops  for  her  own 
protection,  at  the  expense  of  the  main  army,  from 
which  its  quota  of  recruits  was  withheld. 

Before  the  close  of  June,  however,  the  designs  of 
the  enemy  in  regard  to  the  North  became  obvious. 
A  person  from  Canada,  arrested  as  a  spy,  and  brought 
before^  General  Schuyler,  stated,  on  his  examination, 
"  that  the  British  forces  were  approaching  St.  John's, 
and  were  to  advance  through  Lake  Champlain  under 
General  Burgoyne  ;  and  also  that  a  detachment  of 
British  troops,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  was  to  pene 
trate  the  country  by  the  way  of  Oswego  and  the  Val 
ley  of  the  Mohawk.  He  added  many  particulars  re 
specting  the  strength  and  arrangements  of  the  British 
army,  which  turned  out  in  the  end  to  be  nearly  ac 
curate,  but  of  which  no  intelligence  had  before  been 
obtained,  or  by  many  anticipated." 

The  movements  of  General  Howe  were  still  equiv 
ocal,  even  after  Burgoyne  had  commenced  his  de 
scent  upon  the  North,  thus  adding  to  the  embarrass 
ments  of  Washington.  And  in  order  the  more  cer 
tainly  to  mislead  the  American  commander  as  to  his 
real  intentions,  General  Howe  wrote  a  feigned  de 
spatch  to  Burgoyne  on  the  subject  of  ascending  the 
Hudson  to  join  him,  the  bearer  of  which  fell  pur 
posely  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  while  pre 
tending  to  be  on  his  way  to  Canada.  Unable,  there 
fore,  to  determine  whether  such  might  not  be  his 
design  (although  the  intercepted  despatch  was  re 
garded  with  strong  suspicion),  or  whether,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  might  not  be  the  purpose  of  Howe  to 
pass  round  to  the  Chesapeake  and  thence  strike  at 
Philadelphia,  the  American  general  was  compelled 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  177 

to  remain  inactively  watching  his  motions,  strength 
ening,  in  the  mean  time,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power, 
nis  positions  in  the  Highlands,  without  being  able 
to  detach  any  large  number  of  troops  to  the  assist 
ance  of  General  Schuyler,  then  commanding  the 
Northern  department.  And  even  after  General 
Howe  had  embarked  his  troops  and  dropped  down 
to  Sandy  Hook — having  evacuated  New-Jersey  on 
the  30th  of  June — Washington  was  still  in  doubt 
whether  it  might  not  yet  be  his  intention  to  return 
with  the  tide,  and  pass  up  the  river  in  the  night. 
Such,  however,  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  the  British 
commander.  His  destination,  on  leaving  the  har 
bour  of  New-York,  was  the  Chesapeake  and  Phila 
delphia  ;  and  the  latter  branch  of  the  campaign,  in 
dicated  in  the  opening  of  the  present  chapter,  was 
so  far  successful,  that,  after  a  series  of  victories  over 
the  forces  of  General  Washington,  commencing  at 
Brandywine  and  ending  at  Germantown,  General 
Howe  took  possession  of,  and  established  himself 
in,  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania. 

But  a  far  different  fortune  attended  the  arms  of 
Burgoyne.  The  regular  troops  of  his  command, 
English  and  German,  amounted  to  above  seven 
thousand  men,  added  to  which  were  large  numbers 
of  American  and  Canadian  Loyalists,  together  with 
many  hundred  Indians  :  a  species  of  force  which,  it 
has  been  held  by  British  historians,  Sir  Guy  Carleton 
was  reluctant  to  employ,  while  General  Burgoyne 
it  has  been  alleged,  entertained  no  such  scruples. 

Never,  probably,  at  the  time,  had  there  been  an  ar 
my  of  equal  numbers  better  appointed  than  that  of 
Burgoyne.  The  train  of  brass  artillery,  in  particu 
lar,  was  perhaps  the  finest  that  had  ever  been  allot 
ted  to  an  army  not  far  exceeding  the  present  in  nu 
merical  strength,  and  for  a  time  victory  seemed  to 
perch  upon  his  ensigns. 

General  Carleton,  it  will  be  remembered,  had 
made  himself  master  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  the 


178  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

fortifications  at  Crown  Point,  the  autumn  before. 
The  first  object  for  attack  presenting  itself  to  Gen 
eral  Burgoyne,  therefore,  was  Ticonderoga,  situated 
in  the  mountain  gap  through  which  the  waters  of 
Lake  George  fall  into  Lake  Champlain.  This  for 
tress  was  then  in  command  of  General  St.  Glair, 
and  was  supposed  by  the  Americans  to  be  a  post  of 
great  security.  The  principal  fortress,  the  ruins  o/ 
which  are  yet  standing  in  frowning  and  ruggec1 
strength,  was  situated  on  an  angle  of  land  surround 
ed  on  three  sides  by  water  filled  with  rocks.  A  grea- 
part  of  the  south  side  was  covered  by  a  deep  mo 
rass  ;  and  where  that  failed,  in  the  northwest  quar 
ter,  the  old  French  lines  served  as  a  defence. 
These  lines  had  been  strengthened  by  additional 
works  and  a  blockhouse.  The  Americans  had 
other  defences  and  blockhouses  in  the  direction  of 
Lake  George,  together  with  two  new  blockhouses 
and  some  other  works,  to  the  right  of  the  French 
lines.  Still  greater  pains  had  been  taken  in  fortify 
ing  the  high  circular  hill  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  inlet  opposite,  known  as  Mount  Independence. 
rOn  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  which  is  table 
land,  the  Americans  had  erected  a  star- fort,  enclo 
sing  a  large  square  of  barracks,  well  fortified,  and 
supplied  with  artillery.  The  foot  of  the  mountain, 
on  the  west  side  projecting  into  the  water,  was 
strongly  intrenched  to  its  edge,  and  the  intrench- 
ment  lined  with  heavy  artillery.  These  lower 
works  were  sustained  and  covered  by  a  battery 
about  half  way  up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and 
were  connected  by  a  bridge  across  the  inlet,  which 
had  been  constructed  at  great  labour  and  expense. 
These,  and  other  works  of  defence,  had  been  judged 
sufficient  to  render  the  post  secure.  The  command- 
er-in-chief  himself,  although,  indeed,  the  works  had 
not  fallen  under  his  own  inspection,  had  formed  a 
very  erroneous  opinion  of  their  strength,  or  per 
haps,  to  speak  more  correctly,  of  the  natural  advan- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  179 

tages  of  the  position,  and  of  the  defensibility  of  the 
works.  Such,  in  fact,  was  his  confidence  in  the 
post,  that  the  idea  of  its  loss  seems,  from  his  corre 
spondence,  scarce  to  have  entered  his  mind. 

But  in  all  their  labours  the  American  engineers 
had  overlooked  the  high  peak  or  mountain  called 
Sugar  Hill,  situated  south  of  the  bridge,  on  the 
point  of  land  at  the  confluence  of  the  waters  of 
Lakes  George  and  Champlain.  Originally  it  had 
been  supposed  and  taken  for  granted  that  the  crest 
of  Sugar  Hill  was  not  only  inaccessible,  but  too  dis 
tant  to  be  of  any  avail  in  covering  the  main  fortress. 
This  opinion  was  an  error,  to  which  the  attention 
of  the  officers  had  been  called  the  preceding  year 
by  Colonel  John  Trumbull,  then  adjutant-general  for 
the  Northern  department.  When  Colonel  Trum 
bull  made  the  suggestion,  he  was  laughed  at  by  the 
mess ;  but  he  soon  proved  the  greater  accuracy  of 
his  own  vision  by  throwing  a  cannon-shot  to  the 
summit ;  and  subsequently  clambered  up  to  the  top, 
accompanied  by  Colonels  Wayne  and  Arnold,  it 
was  a  criminal  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  Americans 
that  the  oversight  was  not  at  once^corrected  by  the 
construction  of  a  work  upon  that  point,  which  would 
have  commanded  the  whole  post. 

General  Burgoyne  arrived  at  Crown  Point  on  the 
21st  of  June  ;  and  after  meeting  and  feasting  the  In 
dians,  and  attempting  to  instruct  them  in  the  rules 
and  principles  of  civilized  war,  and  making  other 
necessary  preparations — not  forgetting  to  send  forth 
a  manifesto  which  he  supposed  would  spread  terror 
through  the  Northern  colonies — he  advanced  with 
great  caution  to  the  investment  of  Ticonderoga 
where  he  arrived  on  the  2d  of  July.  Most  unac 
countably,  the  Americans  immediately  abandoned 
all  their  works  in  the  direction  of  Lake  George, 
setting  fire  to  the  blockhouses  and  sawmills ;  and, 
without  sally  or  other  interruption,  permitted  the 
enemy,  under  Major-general  Philips,  to  take  pos- 


180  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

session  of  the  very  advantageous  post  of  Mount 
Hope,  which,  besides  commanding  their  lines  in  a 
dangerous  degree,  totally  cut  off  their  communica 
tion  with  Lake  George.  The  only  excuse  for  such 
an  early  abandonment  of  this  important  point,  was 
found  in  the  fact  that  General  St.  Clair  had  not 
force  enough  to  man  all  his  defences. 

One  of  the  first  objects  that  attracted  the  atten 
tion  of  the  British  commander  was  the  unoccupied 
point  of  Sugar  Hill.  It  was  forthwith  examined, 
and  its  advantages  were  found  to  be  so  great,  that 
immediate  dispositions  were  made  for  its  occupa 
tion.  A  winding  road  was  cut  to  its  summit,  a  bat 
tery  commenced,  and  cannon  to  serve  it  transport 
ed  thither.  Under  these  circumstances,  finding 
himself  invested  on  all  sides,  and  batteries  ready  to 
be  opened  upon  him  not  only  from  around,  but 
above  ;  and  having,  moreover,  not  half  troops  enough 
to  man  his  works,  St.  Clair  hastily  convened  a  coun 
cil  of  war  on  the  5th  of  July,  and  an  evacuation  was 
unanimously  decided  upon  as  the  only  alternative 
for  the  emergency. 

Following  up  *  such  a  promising  advantage,  the 
British  commander  pushed  forward  upon  the  reti 
ring  army  with  such  a  degree  of  vigour,  that  the  re 
treat  became  almost  a  rout.  The  Americans,  how 
ever,  made  a  stand  between  Skenesborough  and 
Fort  Anne  in  a  well-contested  battle,  but,  after 
much  hard  fighting,  were  again  compelled  to  retreat. 
Another  engagement  ensued  at  Fort  Anne  with  a 
like  result;  and  the  victorious  Briton  entered  the 
valley  of  the  Hudson,  and  took  possession  of  Fort 
Edward,  which,  weak  and  unprovided,  had  likewise 
been  evacuated  on  his  approach  by  General  Schuy- 
ler. 

These  movements  by  the  British  commander  had 
been  made  with  equal  vigour  and  celerity;  and 
such  was  the  confusion  of  the  Americans  in  their 
flight,  that  no  advices  of  the  disaster  were  forward- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  181 

ed  by  express  to  General  Schuyler  to  prepare  him 
for  the  approach  of  the  victors.  Indeed,  that  offi 
cer  was  suffered  to  remain  several  days  without  in 
telligence  from  St.  Clair  of  any  description,  except 
ing  some  vague  flying  rumours  of  the  evacuation. 
During  this  suspense,  General  Schuyler  wrote  to 
the  commandcr-in-chief  upon  the  subject,  who,  in 
turn,  expressed  his  amazement  at  the  mystery  which 
seemed  to  hang  over  the  affairs  of  the  fortress.  At 
one  moment  Washington  was  led  to  believe  that 
St.  Clair  and  the  whole  garrison  had  been  made 
prisoners,  and  at  another  that  the  rumour  of  the 
evacuation  was  wholly  untrue  ;  and  that  the  silence, 
for  which  it  baffled  conjecture  to  account,  arose  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  Americans  were  shut  up 
in  their  works.  But  this  doubt  did  not  continue  long. 
Notwithstanding  that  the  advance  of  the  enemy  was 
repulsed  at  Fort  Anne,  Colonel  Long,  who  was  in 
command  of  that  post,  immediately  evacuated  it, 
contrary  to  the  express  orders  of  General  Schuyler  ; 
and  Schuyler  himself,  at  the  head  of  only  fifteen 
hundred  men  at  Fort  Edward,  "  without  provision, 
with  little  ammunition,  not  above  five  rounds  to  a 
man,  having  neither  balls  nor  lead  to  make  any,  and 
the  country  in  the  deepest  consternation,"  was 
obliged  also  to  fall  back  in  the  direction  of  Albany. 
The  blow  was  a  severe  one,  but  the  commander-in- 
chief  possessed  a  soul  equal  to  every  crisis.  No 
undue  elevation  of  spirit  followed  his  successes  ;  nei 
ther  did  the  clouds  of  adverse  fortune,  so  frequently 
darkening  the  prospect  of  the  American  arms,  sink 
him  into  despondency.  Indeed,  each  succeeding 
calamity  was  but  another  test  of  his  moral  gn.-.ii,- 
ness,  for  he  rose  above  them  all. 

Nothing,  however,  could  exceed  the  terror  which 
these  events  diffused  among  the  inhabitants,  not 
only  of  Northern  New-York,  but  of  the  New-Eng 
land  States.  The  consternation  was,  moreover,  in 
creased  by  the  reported  murders  and  the  cruelties  of 


182  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

the  savages,  since  all  the  efforts  of  General  Bur- 
goyne  to  dissuade  them  from  the  perpetration  of 
their  cruel  enormities  were  ineffectual.  Restrain 
them  he  could  not ;  and  it  was  admitted  by  the  Brit 
ish  writers  of  that  day,  that  the  friends  of  the  roy 
al  cause,  as  well  as  its  enemies,  were  equally  vic 
tims  to  their  indiscriminate  rage.  It  was  even  as 
certained  that  the  British  officers  were  deceived  by 
their  treacherous  allies  into  the  purchase  of  the 
scalps  of  their  own  comrades. 

Among  other  instances  of  cruelty,  the  well- 
known  murder  of  Miss  Jane  M'Crea,  which  happen 
ed  in  the  early  part  of  the  campaign,  filled  the  pub 
lic  mind  with  horror.  Every  circumstance  of  this 
unnatural  and  bloody  transaction — around  which 
there  lingers  a  melancholy  interest  to  this  day- 
served  to  heighten  alike  its  interest  and  its  enormi 
ty.  Many  have  been  the  versions  of  this  bloody  tale. 
General  Gates,  who  had  at  this  juncture  been  direct 
ed  to  supersede  General  Schuyler  in  the  command 
of  the  Northern  department,  assailed  General  Bur- 
goyne  in  the  newspapers  with  great  virulence  upon 
the  subject  of  these  outrages.  After  charging  the 
British  commander  with  encouraging  the  murder  of 
prisoners,  and  the  massacre  of  women  and  children, 
by  paying  the  Indians  a  stipulated  price  for  scalps, 
Gates,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  General  Burgoyne, 
thus  spoke  of  the  case  now  specially  under  consider 
ation  :  "Miss  M'Crea,  a  young  lady  lovely  to  the 
sight,  of  virtuous  character  and  amiable  disposition, 
engaged  to  an  officer  of  your  army,  was,  with  other 
women  and  children,  taken  out  of  a  house  near 
Fort  Edward,  carried  into  the  woods,  and  there 
scalped  and  mangled  in  the  most  horrid  manner. 
Two  parents,  with  their  six  children,  were  treated 
with  the  same  inhumanity,  while  quietly  resting  in 
their  own  happy  and  peaceful  dwelling.  The  miser 
able  fate  of  Miss  M'Crea  was  particularly  aggrava 
ted  by  being  dressed  to  receive  her  promised  hus- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  183 

band,  but  met  her  murderer,  employed  by  you.  Up 
ward  of  one  hundred  men,  women,  and  children 
have  perished  by  the  hands  of  the  ruffians  to  whom, 
it  is  asserted,  you  have  paid  the  price  of  blood." 

General  Burgoyne  replied,  and  repelled  with  in 
dignation  the  charge  of  encouraging,  in  any  respect, 
the  outrages  of  the  Indians,  He  asserted  that  from 
the  first  he  had  refused  to  pay  for  scalps,  and  had  so 
informed  the  Indians  at  their  council.  The  only  re 
wards  he  gave  them  were  for  prisoners  brought  in, 
and  by  the  adoption  of  this  course  he  hoped  to  en 
courage  a  more  humane  mode  of  warfare  on  their 
part.  In  this  letter  Burgoyne  said,  "  I  would  not 
be  conscious  of  the  acts  you  presume  to  impute  to 
me  for  the  whole  Continent  of  America,  though  the 
wealth  of  worlds  were  in  its  bowels,  and  a  paradise 
upon  its  surface."  In  regard  to  the  hapless  fate  of 
Miss  M'Crea,  General  Burgoyne  remarked,  "  Her 
fall  wanted  not  the  tragic  display  you  have  laboured 
to  give  it  to  make  it  as  sincerely  abhorred  and  la 
mented  by  me  as  it  can  be  by  the  tenderest  of  her 
friends.  The  act  was  no  premeditated  barbarity. 
On  the  contrary,  two  chiefs,  who  had  brought  her 
off  for  the  purpose  of  security,  not  of  violence  to 
her  person,  disputed  which  should  be  her  guard,  and 
in  a  fit  of  savage  passion  in  one,  from  whose  hands 
she  was  snatched,  the  unhappy  woman  became  the 
victim.  Upon  the  first  intelligence  of  this  event,  I 
obliged  the  Indians  to  deliver  the  murderer  into  my 
hands  ;  and  though  to  have  punished  him  by  our 
laws,  or  principles  of  justice,  would  have  been  per 
haps  unprecedented,  he  certainly  should  have  suf 
fered  an  ignominious  death,  had  I  not  been  convin 
ced,  from  my  circumstances  and  observations,  be 
yond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  a  pardon  under 
the  terms  which  I  presented  and  they  accepted, 
would  be  more  efficacious  than  an  execution,  to  pre 
vent  similar  mischiefs.  The  above  instance  except- 
ed,  your  intelligence  respecting  the  cruelty  of  the 
Indians  is  false." 


184  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

The  British  commander  doubtless  laboured  to 
make  the  best  of  his  case,  and  in  respect  to  Miss 
M'Crea,  his  statement  was  much  nearer  to  the  truth 
than  that  of  General  Gates.  The  actual  circum 
stances  of  the  case,  stripped  of  its  romance,  were 
these  :  Miss  M'Crea  belonged  to  a  family  of  Loyal 
ists,  and  had  engaged  her  hand  in  marriage  to  a 
young  refugee  named  Jones,  a  subordinate  officer  in 
the  British  service,  who  was  advancing  with  Bur- 
goyne.  Anxious  to  possess  himself  of  his  bride,  he 
despatched  a  small  party  of  Indians  to  bring  her  to 
the  British  camp.  Her  family  and  friends  were 
strongly  opposed  to  her  going  with  such  an  escort ; 
but  her  affection  overcame  her  prudence,  and  she 
determined  upon  the  hazardous  adventure.  She  set 
forward  with  her  dusky  attendants  on  horseback. 
The  family  resided  at  the  village  of  Fort  Edward, 
whence  they  had  not  proceeded  more  than  half  a 
mile  before  her  conductors  stopped  to  drink  at  a 
spring.  Meantime,  the  impatient  lover,  who  deserv 
ed  not  her  embrace  for  confiding  her  protection  to 
such  hands,  instead  of  going  himself,  had  despatch 
ed  a  second  party  of  Indians  upon  the  same  errand. 
The  Indians  met  at  the  spring ;  and  before  the  march 
was  resumed,  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  the 
Provincials.  At  the  close  of  the  skirmish,  the  body 
of  Miss  M'Crea  was  found  among  the  slain,  toma 
hawked,  scalped,  and  tied  to  a  pine-tree,  yet  stand 
ing  by  the  side  of  the  spring,  as  a  monument  of  the 
bloody  transaction.  The  name  of  the  young  lady  is 
inscribed  on  the  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  is  thickly 
scarred  with  the  bullets  it  received  in  the  skir 
mish.  It  also  bears  the  date  1777.  "  Tradition 
reports  that  the  Indians  divided  the  scalp,  and  that 
each  party  carried  half  of  it  to  the  agonized  lover." 
The  ascertained  cause  of  the  murder  was  this  :  The 
promised  reward  for  bringing  her  in  safety  to  her 
betrothed  was  a  barrel  of  rum.  The  chiefs  of  the 
two  parties  sent  for  her  by  Mr.  Jones  quarrelled 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  185 

respecting  the  anticipated  compensation.  Each 
claimed  it,  and,  in  a  moment  of  passion,  to  end  the 
controversy,  one  of  them  struck  her  down  with  his 
hatchet. 

'  As  the  invader  advanced,  the  inhabitants  fled  in  the 
wildest  consternation.  The  horrors  of  war,  howev 
er  mitigated  by  the  laws  and  usages  of  civilization, 
are  at  all  times  sufficiently  terrific ;  but  when  to 
these  the  fierce  cruelties  of  a  cloud  of  savages  are 
superadded,  those  only  who  have  been  familiar  with 
an  American  border  warfare  can  form  an  adequate 
opinion  of  its  atrocities.  Among  the  fugitives  driv 
en  from  their  peaceful  abodes  on  the  present  occa 
sion  was  Mrs.  Ann  Eliza  Bleecker,  a  lady  who  has 
been  somewhat  celebrated  as  one  of  the  early  poets 
of  our  country.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
Brandt  Schuyler,  of  the  city  of  New- York,  and  the 
wife  of  John  J.  Bleecker,  Esq.,  of  New-Rochelle, 
whose  enterprise,  together  with  his  lady's  love  for 
the  wild  scenery  of  the  forest,  had  induced  him  to 
exchange  a  residence  among  the  busy  haunts  of 
men  for  a  solitary  plantation  in  the  vale  of  the 
Tomhanic,  a  mountain  stream  flowing  into  the 
Hoosic  River,  about  twenty  miles  from  Albany.  Mr. 
Bleecker's  residence  lay  directly  in  the  march  of 
Burgoyne,  on  whose  approach  he  hastened  to  Alba 
ny  to  provide  accommodations  for  his  family.  But 
a  few  hours  after  his  departure,  Mrs.  Bleecker,  as 
she  sat  at  the  table,  received  intelligence  that  the 
enemy,  with  tomahawk  and  brand,  was  within  two 
miles  of  her  residence.  Instant  flight  was  the  only 
alternative.  Taking  one  of  her  children  in  her 
arms,  and  seizing  the  other  by  the  hand,  she  started 
off  on  foot,  attended  only  by  a  young  mulatto  girl, 
and  leaving  her  house  and  all  its  contents  a  prey  to 
the  Indians.  The  roads  were  encumbered  by  car 
riages,  loaded  with  women  and  children,  each  intent 
upon  his  or  her  own  safety ;  so  that  no  assistance 
could  be  obtained,  and  her  only  recourse  was  to 
VOL.  T.— P 


]86  BORDER   WAUS    OF   THE 

mingle  in  the  fugitive  throng,  and  Participate  in  the 


Hudson  as  far  as  Red  Hook,  one  of  her  child 

^ifthirscene  of  desolation  and  affright,  there 
Js  yet  one  woman  whose  proud  spirit  was  un- 
Snted.  It  was  the  lady  of  General  Schuyler.  The 
general's  country-seat  was  upon  his  estate  in  Sara, 
tno-a  standinff  upon  the  margin  of  the  river,  un  me 
Broach  o?gBuPrgoyne,  Mrs.  Schuyler  we£  up  to 
in  order  to  remove  their  furniture,  t 


to  return  She  had  yet  to  pass  through  a  dense  for 
est  within  which  even  then  some  of  the  savage 
tro^ptmightte  lurking  for  prey  But  to  these  pru 
dential  counsels  she  would  not  listen  "The  gen 
eral's  wife,"  she  exclaimed,  "must  not  be  airaia 
And,  pTshing  forward,  she  accomplished  her  pui 

^Before  the  mansion  was  evacuated,  however,  the 
general  himself  had  a  narrow  escf  \  ^fns^t^ 
nation  by  the  hand  of  a  savage,  who  had  insinuated 


behind  the  door.      The  servant  was  a 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  187 

ulack  slave,  who  had  sufficient  presence  of  mind 
not  to  appear  to  have  made  the  discovery.  Passing 
directly  through  the  door  into  the  apartment  where 
the  general  was  yet  standing  near  the  fireplace, 
with  an  air  of  unconcern  she  pretended  to  arrange 
such  articles  as  were  disposed  upon  the  mantel 
piece,  while  in  an  under-tone  she  informed  her  mas 
ter  of  her  discovery,  and  said,  aloud,  "I  will  call 
the  guard."  The  general  instantly  seized  his  arms, 
while  the  faithful  servant  hurried  out  by  another 
door  into  a  long  hall,  upon  the  floor  of  which  lay  a 
loose  board  which  creaked  beneath  the  tread.  'By 
the  noise  she  made  in  tramping  rapidly  upon  the 
board,  the  Indian — for  such  he  proved — was  led  to 
suppose  that  the  Philistines  were  upon  him  in  num 
bers,  sprang  from  his  concealment  and  fled.  He 
was  pursued,  however,  by  the  guard  and  a  few 
friendly  Indians  attached  to  the  person  of  General 
Schuyler,  overtaken,  and  made  prisoner.  Exas 
perated  at  his  treachery,  the  friendly  Indians  were 
resolved  to  put  him  to  death,  and  it  was  with  much 
iifficulty  that  they  were  diverted  from  their  purpose 
jy  the  general. 

The  effect  of  the  incidents  we  have  been  detail 
ing,  and  other  recitals  of  savage  cruelties,  not  all, 
is  General  Burgoyne  represented,  without  founda- 
ion,  was  extensive  and  powerful.  The  cry  of  ven 
geance  was  universal,  and  a  spirit  was  aroused 
which  proved  of  speedy  and  great  advantage  to  the 
A.merican  arms. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CONTEMPORANEOUSLY  with  the  descent  of  Burgoyne 
|»on  Northern  New- York,  Colonel  Barry  St.  Leger 


188  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

had  been  despatched  from  Montreal,  by  the  way  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Ontario,  to  Oswego, 
there  to  form  a  junction  with  the  Indians  and  Loy 
alists  under  Sir  John  Johnson  and  Captain  Brant. 
From  Oswego,  St.  Leger  was  to  penetrate  by  the 
way  of  Oneida  Lake  and  Wood  Creek  to  the  Mo 
hawk  River,  with  a  view  of  forming  a  junction  with 
Burgoyne,  on  his  arrival  in  Albany.  The  alarm 
everywhere  felt  on  the  approach  of  Burgoyne  from 
the  North  was  greatly  increased  in  Tryon  county 
on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  contemplated  inva 
sion  by  the  Indians  and  Loyalists  from  the  West. 
The  news  of  this  movement  was  first  brought  to  the 
inhabitants  by  an  Oneida  half-breed  sachem  named 
Thomas  Spencer,  who  came  therewith  direct  from 
Canada,  whither  he  had  gone  as  a  secret  emissary 
to  obtain  information.  Spencer  stated  that  he  had 
been  present  at  a  council  held  at  the  Indian  castle 
of  Cassassenny,  at  which  Colonel  Clans  presided.* 
According  to  Thomas's  relation,  Colonel  Clans 
strongly  urged  the  Indians  to  join  the  expedition 
into  the  Mohawk  Valley,  by  the  western  approach ; 
boasting  of  the  strength  of  the  army  under  Bur 
goyne,  which  had  gone  against  Ticonderoga,  and 
the  number  of  Indians  with  them,  before  whom  he 
assured  them  Ticonderoga  would  fall.  The  Oneida 
sachem  farther  informed  the  people  that  Sir  John 
Johnson  and  Colonel  Claus  were  then  at  Oswego 
with  their  families,  with  seven  hundred  Indians  and 
four  hundred  regular  troops.  There  were  also  six 
hundred  Tories  on  one  of  the  islands  above  Oswe- 
gatchie  preparing  to  join  them  ;  and  Colonel  Butler 
was  to  arrive  at  Oswego  on  the  14th  of  July  from 
Niagara,  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Six  Nations,  to 
all  of  whom  he  would  offer  the  hatchet  to  join  them 
and  strike  the  Americans.  Thomas  thereupon  con- 

*  Colonel  Daniel  Claus.  a  brother-in-law  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  had 
either  superseded  Guy  Johnson  as  Indian  superintendent  in  Canada,  or 
been  appointed  a  deputy. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  189 

eluded  his  communication  by  urging  an  immediate 
march  to  the  assistance  of  Fort  Schuyler,  represent 
ing,  among  other  things,  that  the  successful  tt'lvance 
of  the  enemy  would  compel  the  friendly  Indians 
either  to  fly  or  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  invaders. 

The  counsel  of  the  faithful  Oneida  was  neither 
early  enough,  nor  was  it  seconded  with  sufficient 
promptitude  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants.  Indeed, 
it  must  be  confessed  that,  as  the  storm  of  war  rolled 
onward,  gathering  at  once  from  different  directions, 
and  threatening  daily  to  break  upon  them  with  in 
creasing  fury,  many  of  the  yeomen  who  had  hith 
erto  born  themselves  nobly  began  to  falter.  A 
spirit  of  disaffection  had  also  been  more  widely  dif 
fused  among  the  settlements  than  could  have  been 
supposed  from  the  previous  patriotic  conduct  of  the 
people,  while  treason  lurked  in  many  places  where 
least  suspected. 

As  early  as  the  10th  of  April,  Colonel  Robert  Van 
Rensselaer  wrote  to  a  friend  that  the  chairman  of 
the  County  Committee  had  applied  to  him  for  the 
assistance  of  his  militia  to  quell  an  insurrection  of 
the  Loyalists  in  Ballston ;  but  such  was  the  condition 
of  his  own  regiment,  that  he  was  obliged  to  decline 
the  request.  The  spirit  of  disaffection  had  become 
so  prevalent  among  his  men,  that  numbers  of  them 
had  taken  the  oath  of  secrecy  and  allegiance  to 
Great  Britain.  However,  he  added  that  seventeen 
of  the  villains  had  been  arrested  by  the  vigilance  of 
the  officers,  and  were  then  in  confinement ;  and  a 
hope  was  indulged  of  being  able  to  detect  the  whole. 
Early  in  the  following  month  the  residue  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Scotch  settlers  in  the  neighbour 
hood  of  Johnstown  ran  off  to  Canada,  together  with 
some  of  the  loyalist  Germans,  all  headed  by  two 
men  named  M'Donald,  who  had  been  permitted  by 
General  Schuyler  to  visit  their  families.  The  fact 
that  the  wives  and  families  of  the  absconding  Loy 
alists  were  holding  communication  with  them,  and 


190  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

administering  to  their  subsistence  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  settlements,  had  suggested  their  arrest,  and 
removal  to  a  place  of  safety,  to  the  number  of  four 
hundred— a  measure  that  was  approved  by  General 
Herkimer  and  his  officers.  Alarming  reports  of 
various  descriptions  were  continually  in  circulation, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  harassed  beyond  measure 
by  the  necessity  of  performing  frequent  tours  of 
military  duty,  acting  as  scouts  and  reconnoitring 
parties,  and  standing,  some  of  them  as  sentinels, 
around  their  fields,  while  others  did  the  labour,  No 
neighbourhood  felt  secure,  and  all  were  apprehen 
sive  that  the  whole  country  would  be  ravaged  by 
the  Indians ;  while  parties  of  the  disaffected  were 
continually  stealing  away  to  augment  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy.  Thus  circumstanced,  and  at  the  very 
moment  when  they  were  called  upon  to  re-enforce 
Fort  Schuyler,  the  committees  both  of  Palatine  and 
Schoharie,  feeling  that  they  were  not  strong  enough 
even  for  self-defence,  were  calling  upon  the  Coun 
cil  of  Safety  at  Albany  to  send  additional  forces  for 
their  protection.  On  the  18th  of  July,  General 
Schuyler  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Pierre  Van  Courtlandt, 
from  Saratoga,  and  again  on  the  21st  from  Fort 
Edward,  to  the  same  effect.  "  I  am  exceedingly 
chagrined,"  he  says,  "  at  the  pusillanimous  spirit 
which  prevails  in  the  county  of  Tryon.  I  appre 
hend  much  of  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  infidelity 
of  the  leading  persons  of  that  quarter.  If  I  had  one 
thousand  regular  troops,  in  addition  to  those  now 
above  and  on  the  march,  I  should  venture  to  keep 
only  every  third  man  of  the  militia,  and  would  send 
them  down." 

The  complaints  of  General  Schuyler  were  not 
without  just  foundation,  as  the  reader  has  already 
seen.  Indeed,  both  regulars  and  militia  in  Tryon 
county  seemed,  for  the  moment,  to  have  lost  all  the 
high  qualities  of  soldiers  or  citizens.  Of  two  hun 
dred  militiamen  ordered  to  muster  and  join  the  gar- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  191 

rison  of  Fort  Schuyler,  only  a  part  obeyed  :  while 
two  companies  of  regular  troops,  receiving  the   ike 
orders,  entered  upon  the  service  with  great  reluc 
tance,  and    not  without   urging   various    excuses, 
complaining  that  service  in  scouting  parties  had  i; 
fitted  them  for  garrison  duty.     Under  circumstan 
ce*  of  such  discouragement,  it  was  a  time  ol  pecu 
liar  trial  to  the  officers  and  committees  of  safety. 
Tryon  county  had  early  espoused  the   cause  pi 
freedom,  and  apparently  with  greater  unanimity 
than  any  other  county  in  the  state  ;  and  the  exten 
sive  defection,  or  criminal  apathy,  which  we  have 
just  been  contemplating,  was  altogether  unexpected. 
But  a  crisis  was  approaching  which  necessity  soon 
obliged  them  to  meet.     Accordingly,  on  the  17th  of 
July,  General  Herkimer  issued  a  patriotic  procla 
mation  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  county,  announcing 
the  gathering  of  the  enemy  at  Oswego,  "  Christians 
and    savages,"   to   the   number   of  two   thousand 
strong,  with  the  intention  of  invading  the  frontier, 
and  calling  upon  the  people,  en  masse,  to  be  ready  at 
a  moment's  warning  to  repair  to  the  field,  with 
arms  and  accoutrements,  on  the  approach  of  the 
enemy.     Those  in  health,  from  16  to  60  years  of 
age,  were  designated  for  actual  service  ;  while  those 
above  60  years  of  age,  or  invalids,  were  directed  to 
arm  for  the  defence  of  the  women  and  children  at 
whatever  place  they  might  be  gathered  in  for  safety. 
Concerning  the  disaffected,  and  those  who  might 
refuse  to  obey  the  orders,  it  was  directed  in  the 
proclamation  that  they   should  be   arrested,  their 
arms  secured,  and  themselves  placed  under  guard 
to  join  the  main  body.     All  the  members  of  the 
committee,  and  all  those  who,  by  reason  of  having 
formerly  held  commissions,  had  become  exempts 
from  service,  were  invited  to  repair  to  the  rendez 
vous,  and  aid  in  repulsing  the  foe :  "  not  doubting 
that  the  Almighty  Power,  upon  our  humble  prayers 
and  sincere  trust  in  Him,  will  then  graciously  sue- 


192  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

cour  our  arms  in  battle  for  our'just  cause,  and  vic 
tory  cannot  fail  on  our  side." 

The  Oneida  Indians,  who  were  sincerely  disposed 
to  favour  the  cause  of  the  United  States,  but  who, 
pursuant  to  the  humane  policy  of  Congress,  and 
the  advice  of  General  Schuyler,  had  determined  to 
preserve  their  neutrality,  beheld  the  approaching 
invasion  from  Oswego  with  no  small  degree  of  ap 
prehension.  The  course  they  had  marked  out  for 
themselves,  as  they  were  well  aware,  was  viewed 
with  displeasure  by  their  Mohawk  brethren,  while 
the  other  members  of  their  confederacy  were  ob 
viously  inclined  to  side  with  their  "  Uncle."*  Liv 
ing,  moreover,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
Fort  Schuyler,  where  St.  Leger's  first  blow  must 
be  struck,  they  were  not  a  little  troubled  in  the  pros 
pect  of  what  might  happen  to  themselves. 

The  certainty  that  the  invaders  were  approach 
ing,  the  earnestness  of  the  appeals  of  the  commit 
tee  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people,  the  influence  of 
the  proclamation  of  the  German  general,  who  was 
a  much  better  man  than  officer,  save  only  in  the 
single  attribute  of  courage  ;  and,  above  all,  the  posi 
tive  existence  of  a  common  danger  from  which 
there  was  no  escape,  were  circumstances,  together, 
not  without  their  effect.  And  although  the  eleventh 
hour  had  arrived,  the  militia,  and  all  upon  whom 
the  call  to  arms  had  been  made,  now  began  to  move 
with  a  degree  of  alacrity,  and  an  exhibition  of  spirit 
that  went  far  to  atone  for  the  unpatriotic,  if  not 
craven,  symptoms  already  noticed. 

Meantime,  having  completed  his  organization  at 
Oswego,  General  St.  Leger  commenced  his  march 
upon  Fort  Schuyler,  moving  by  the  route  already 
indicated,  though  with  great  circumspection.  The 
name  of  this  place  of  rendezvous  has  already  re 
curred  more  than  once  or  twice  in  the  preceding 

*  In  the  Six  Nations,  the  Mohawks— the  head  tribe— were  called 
"  Uncle  "  "  The  Oneidas  were  the  "  elder  brother,"  &c. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  193 

pages.  Its  position  was  important,  and  it  had  been 
a  place  of  renown  in  the  earlier  wars  of  the  colony. 
The  river  bearing1  the  same  name,  which  here  pours 
northwardly  into  Lake  Ontario,  is  the  outlet  both 
of  the  Oneida  and  Seneca  Rivers,  through  which, 
and  their  tributary  streams,  it  is  connected  with  the 
chain  of  small  lakes  bearing  the  names  of  Oneida, 
Cazenovia,  Skaneateles,  Owasco,  Cayuga,  Seneca, 
and  Canandaigua.  Its  estuary,  of  course,  forms 
the  natural  opening  into  the  rich  district  of  country 
surrounding  those  lakes,  which,  down  to  the  period 
of  the  present  history,  contained  the  principal  towns 
of  four  of  the  Five  Nations  of  Indians.  During  the 
wars  between  the  French  and  Five  Nations,  Oswego 
was  repeatedly  occupied  by  the  armies  of  the  former. 
It  was  here  that  Count  Frontenac  landed  on  his  in 
vasion  of  the  Onondaga  country  in  1692  ;  at  which 
time,  or  subsequently,  a  considerable  military  work 
was  erected  on  the  western  side  of  the  river.  During 
the  war  with  France,  which  was  closed  in  America 
by  the  conquest  of  Canada,  it  was  in  the  occupancy 
of  the  Provincials  and  English.  The  expedition, 
destined  to  descend  the  St.  Lawrence  upon  Mon 
treal,  was  assembled  at  this  point  in  1759,  after  the 
fall  of  Niagara,  under  General  Shirley  and  Sir  Will 
iam  Johnson.  The  army  was  encamped  here  sev 
eral  \veeks,  and  finally  broke  up  without  attempting 
its  main  object,  owing,  as  Sir  William  Johnson  in 
timates  in  his  private  diary,  to  a  want  of  energy  on 
the  part  of  Shirley.  After  the  fall  of  Quebec  and 
Montreal  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  a  battalion 
of  the  55th  regiment  was  stationed  at  Oswego,  un 
der  Major  Duncan,  a  brother  of  the  naval  hero  of 
Camperdown.  A  new  and  far  more  formidable 
work  was  constructed  upon  the  eastern,  or  north 
eastern  promontory,  formed  by  the  embouchure  of 
the  river  into  the  lake.  The  new  position  was  far 
better  chosen  for  a  fortress  than  the  old ;  and,  ulti 
mately,  before  the  Britons  were  dispossessed  of  it 


194  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

by  the  Americans,  it  became  a  work  of  somewhat 
formidable  strength  and  dimensions.  The  situation 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  that  can  be  imagined ; 
and,  during  the  two  or  three  years  in  which  Major 
Duncan  was  in  command,  by  the  cultivation  of  a 
large  garden,  the  laying  out  and  improving  of  a 
bowling-green,  and  other  pleasure  grounds,  it  was 
rendered  a  little  paradise  in  the  wilderness. 

All  told,  the  army  of  St.  Leger  consisted  of  seven 
teen  hundred  men,  Indians  included.  These  latter 
were  led  by  Thayendanegea.  The  advance  of  the 
main  body  was  formed  of  Indians,  inarching  in  five 
Indian  columns — that  is,  in  single  files,  at  large  dis 
tances  from  each  other,  and  four  hundred  and  sixty 
paces  in  front  of  the  line.  From  these  columns  of 
Indians,  files  were  stretched  at  a  distance  of  ten 
paces  from  each  other,  forming  a  line  of  communi 
cation  with  the  advanced  guard  of  the  line,  which 
was  one  hundred  paces  in  front  of  the  column.  The 
right  and  left  flanks  were  covered  by  Indians  at  one 
hundred  paces,  forming,  likewise,  lines  of  communi 
cation  with  the  main  body.  The  king's  regiment 
moved  from  the  left  by  Indian  file,  while  the  34th 
moved  in  the  same  order  from  the  right.  The  rear 
guard  was  formed  of  regular  troops ;  while  the  ad 
vance  guard,  composed  of  eixty  marksmen,  detach 
ed  from  Sir  John  Johnson's  regiment  of  Royal 
Greens,  was  led  by  Sir  John's  brother-in-law,  Cap 
tain  Watts.  Each  corps  was  likewise  directed  to 
have  ten  chosen  marksmen  in  different  parts  of  its 
line,  in  case  of  attack,  to  be  pushed  forward  to  any 
given  point,  as  circumstances  might  require. 

From  these  extraordinary  precautions,  it  may 
well  be  inferred  that  General  St.  Leger,  who  prob 
ably  acted  much  under  the  advice  of  Sir  John 
Johnson  and  the  refugee  Provincials,  who  must 
have  been  best  acquainted  with  the  country  and  the 
character  of  the  enemy  they  were  going  to  encoun 
ter,  was  not  a  little  apprehensive  of  an  attack  by 
surprise  while  on  his  march. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  195 

In  addition  to  the  arrangements  already  indicated, 
a  detachment  from  the  8th  regiment,  with  a  few 
Indians,  was  sent  a  day  or  more  in  advance,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  Bird.  This  officer 
pushed  forward  with  spirit,  but  was  somewhat  an 
noyed  by  the  insubordination  and  independent  action 
of  his  allies. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  Bird  wrote  back  to  his  gen 
eral  that  no  savages  would  advance  with  him  except 
Henriques,  a  Mohawk,  and  one  other  of  the  Six 
Nations,  an  old  acquaintance  of  his.  The  letter  con 
tinues  :  "  Those  two,  sir,  I  hope  to  have  the  honour 
to  present  to  you.  A  savage,  who  goes  by  the 
name  of  Commodore  Bradley,  was  the  chief  cause 
of  their  not  advancing  to-day.  Twelve  Messe- 
saugues  came  up  two  or  three  hours  after  my  de 
parture.  Those,  with  the  scout  of  fifteen  I  had  the 
honour  to  mention  to  you  in  my  last,  are  sufficient 
to  invest  Fort  Stanwix,  if  you  favour  me  so  far  as 
not  to  order  to  the  contrary." 

The  investment  of  the  fort  was  made  by  Lieu 
tenant  Bird  forthwith,  Brant  arriving  to  his  assist 
ance  at  the  same  time.  But  the  result  of  the  siege 
that  followed  proved  that  the  British  commander 
had  grievously  miscalculated  the  spirit  of  the  gar 
rison  of  Fort  Stanwix  in  his  anticipations  of  a  speedy 
capitulation.  Still,  his  prudential  order,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  prevent  an  unnecessary  sacrifice 
of  life  at  the  hands  of  his  Indian  allies,  calculating, 
of  course,  upon  an  easy  victory,  was  not  the  less 
commendable  on  that  account. 

The  situation  of  Fort  Stanwix  itself — or,  rather, 
Fort  Schuyler,  as  it  must  now  be  called — next  de 
mands  attention.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  the  post  was  commanded  by 
Colonel  Elmore,  of  the  state  service.  The  term 
of  that  officer  expiring  in  April,  Colonel  Peter  Ganse- 
voort,  also  of  the  state  troops,  was  designated  as 
Colonel  Elmore's  successor,  by  an  order  from  Gen- 


196  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

eral  Gates,  dated  the  26th  of  that  month.  Notwith 
standing  the  labours  of  Colonel  Drayton  in  repairing 
the  works  the  preceding  year,  Colonel  Gansevoort 
found  them  in  such  a  state  of  dilapidation,  that  they 
were  not  only  indefensible,  but  untenable.  A  brisk 
correspondence  ensued  between  that  officer  and 
General  Schuyler  upon  the  subject,  from  which  it 
is  manifest  that,  to  say  nothing  of  the  miserable 
condition  of  his  defences,  with  the  prospect  of  an  in 
vasion  from  the  west  before  him,  his  situation  was 
in  other  respects  sufficiently  deplorable.  He  had  but 
a  small  number  of  men,  and  many  of  those  were 
sick  by  reason  of  destitution.  Added  to  all  which, 
was  the  responsibility  of  the  Indian  relations  con 
fided  to  him  by  special  order  of  General  Schuyler 
on  the  9th  of  June. 

Colonel  Marinus  Willett  was  soon  afterward  di 
rected  to  join  the  garrison  at  Fort  Schuyler  with  his 
regiment,  and  most  fortunate  was  the  selection  of 
such  ah  officer  as  Willett  to  co-operate  with  such 
another  as  Gansevoort ;  since  all  the  skill,  and  en 
ergy,  and  courage  of  both  were  necessary  for  the 
situation.  The  work  itself  was  originally  a  square 
fort,  with  four  bastions,  surrounded  by  a  ditch  of 
considerable  width  and  depth,  with  a  covert  way 
and  glacis  around  three  of  its  angles  ;  the  other  be 
ing  sufficiently  secured  by  low,  marshy  ground. 
In  front  of  the  gate  there  had  been  a  drawbridge, 
covered  by  a  salient  angle  raised  in  front  of  it  on 
the  glacis.  In  the  centre  of  the  ditch  a  row  of  per 
pendicular  pickets  had  been  erected,  with  rows  of 
horizontal  pickets  fixed  around  the  ramparts  under 
the  embrasures.  But,  since  the  conclusion  of  the 
French  war,  the  fort  had  fallen  into  decay  ;  the 
ditch  was  filled  up,  and  the  pickets  had  rotted  and 
fallen  down  ;*  nor  had  any  suitable  progress  been 
made  in  its  reparation.  Immediate  exertions,  ener- 

*  Willet-t's  Narrative. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  197 

getic  and  unremitting,  were  necessary  to  repair,  or, 
rather,  to  renew  and  reconstruct,  the  works,  and 
place  them  in  a  posture  of  defence,  should  the  long- 
anticipated  invasion  ensue  from  that  quarter.  A 
more  correct  idea  of  the  wretched  condition  of  the 
post,  even  down  to  the  beginning  of  July,  may  be 
formed  from  the  annexed  letter  :* 

COLONEL  GANSEVOOUT  TO  GENERAL  SCHUYLER. 

"Fort  Schuyler,  July  4th,  1777. 

"  SIR, 

"  Having  taken  an  accurate  review  of  the  state 
of  the  garrison,  I  think  it  is  incumbent  on  me  to  in 
form  your  excellency  by  express  of  our  present  cir 
cumstances.     Every  possible  assistance  is  given  to 
Captain  Marquizee  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  such 
works  as  are  deemed  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  the  garrison.     The  soldiers  are  constant 
ly  at  work ;  even  such  of  them  as  come  off  guard 
are  immediately  turned  out  to  fatigue.     But  I  can 
not  conceal  from  your  excellency  the  impossibility 
of  attending  fully  to  all  the  great  objects  pointed 
^out  in  the  orders  issued  to  the  commanding  officer 
on  the  station,  without  farther  assistance.     Sending 
out  sufficient  parties  of  observation,  felling  the  tim 
ber  into  Wood  Creek,  clearing  the  road  from  Fort 
Dayton,  which  is  so  embarrassed  in  many  parts  as 
to  be  impassable,  and  prosecuting,  at  the  same  time, 
the  internal  business  of  the  garrison,  are  objects  of 
the  greatest  importance,  which  should,  if  possible, 
be  immediately  considered.     But  while  no  exertions 
compatible  with  the  circumstances  we  are  in,  and 
necessary  to  give  your  excellency  satisfaction  with 
respect  to  all  these   interesting  matters,  shall  bo 
omitted,  I  am  very  sensible  it  is  not  in  our  power  to 
get  over  some  capital  obstructions  without  a  re-en 
forcement.     The  enclosed  return,  and  the  difficul- 

*  MS.  copy,  preserved  araon  •  General  Gansevport's  papers. 


198  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ties  arising  from  the  increasing  number  of  hostile 
Indians,  will  show  to  your  excellency  the  grounds 
of  my  opinion.  One  hundred  and  fifty  men  would 
be  needed  speedily  and  effectually  to  obstruct  Wood 
Creek  ;  an  equal  number  will  be  necessary  to  guard 
the  men  at  work  in  felling  and  hauling  of  timber. 
Such  a  deduction  from  our  number,  together  with 
smaller  deductions  for  scouting  parties,  would 
scarcely  leave  a  man  in  the  garrison,  which  might 
therefore  be  easily  surprised  by  a  contemptible  par 
ty  of  the  enemy.  The  number  of  inimical  Indians 
increases.  On  the  affair  of  last  week  only  two 
made  their  appearance.  Yesterday  a  party  of  at 
least  forty,  supposed  to  be  Butler's  emissaries,  at 
tacked  Ensign  Sporr  with  sixteen  privates,  who 
were  out  on  fatigue,  cutting  turf  about  three  quar 
ters  of  a  mile  from  the  fort.  One  soldier  was  brought 
in  dead  and  inhumanly  mangled ;  two  were  brought 
in  wounded,  one  of  them  slightly,  and  the  other 
mortally.  Six  privates  and  Mr.  Sporr  are  missing. 
Two  parties  were  immediately  sent  to  pursue  the 
enemy,  but  they  returned  without  being  able  to 
come  up  with  them.  This  success  will,  no  doubt, 
encourage  them  to  send  out  a  greater  number ;  and 
the  intelligence  they  may  possibly  acquire  will 
probably  hasten  the  main  body  destined  to  act 
against  us  in  these  parts.  Our  provision  is  greatly 
diminished  by  reason  of  the  spoiling  of  the  beef,  and 
the  quantities  that  must  be  given  from  time  to  time 
to  the  Indians.  It  will  not  hold  out  above  six 
weeks.  Your  excellency  will  perceive,  in  looking 
over  Captain  Savage's  return  of  the  state  of  the  ar 
tillery,  that  some  essential  articles  are  very  scarce. 
As  a  great  number  of  the  gun-bullets  do  not  suit  the 
firelocks,  some  bullet-moulds  of  different  sizes  for 
casting  others  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  us. 
Our  stock  of  powder  is  absolutely  too  little  ;  a  ton, 
in  addition  to  what  we  have,  is  wanted,  as  the  low 
est  proportion  for  the  shot  we  have  on  hand.  We 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  199 

will,  notwithstanding  every  difficulty,  exert  our 
selves  to  the  utmost  of  our  power ;  and  if  your  ex 
cellency  will  be  pleased  to  order  a  speedy  re-en 
forcement,  with  a  sufficient  supply  of  provision  and 
ammunition  to  enable  us  to  hold  out  a  siege,  we 
will,  I  hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  able  to  give 
a  good  account  of  any  force  that  will  probably  come 
against  us." 

The  picture  is  gloomy  enough ;  and  was  rendered 
the  more  so  from  the  mistakes  of  the  engineer,  a 
Frenchman,  who  had  been  employed  by  General 
Schuyler,  and  whom  it  was  ultimately  found  neces 
sary  to  arrest  and  send  back  to  headquarters.  Col 
onel  Willett  had,  from  the  first,  doubted  the  capaci 
ty  of  Marquizee,  and  after  his  dismissal  the  work 
proceeded,  for  the  most  part,  under  his  own  immedi 
ate  direction. 

The  garrison  had  likewise  other  difficulties  to  en 
counter.  With  the  gathering  of  St.  Leger's  motley 
forces  at  Oswego,  preparatory  to  his  descent  upon 
the  Mohawk,  the  Indians,  as  has  already  been  seen 
by  Gansevoort's  letter,  began  to  appear  in  scouting 
parties  in  the  circumjacent  forests.  The  utmost 
caution  was,  therefore,  necessary  on  leaving  the  fort 
even  for  a  short  distance.  It  was  during  this  criti 
cal  period  that  the  familiar  incident  of  Captain 
Gregg  and  his  faithful  dog  occurred. 

According  to  the  narrative  of  President  Dwight, 
it  appears  that  Gregg  and  his  companion  had  been 
seduced  into  a  fatal  disobedience  of  orders  by  the 
clouds  of  pigeons  appearing  in  the  adjoining  woods. 
Immediately  upon  their  fall  the  Indians  rushed  upon 
them  for  their  scalps,  which  they  took,  giving  each 
a  simultaneous  cut  upon  the  head  with  their  toma 
hawks.  The  corporal  had  been  killed  by  the  shot, 
but  Captain  Gregg  was  only  wounded.*  Feigning 

*  It  has  been  asserted  in  history  that  St.  Leger  encouraged  these  iso- 


200  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

death,  however,  he  had  the  presence  of  mind,  and 
the  fortitude,  to  submit  to  the  subsequent  torture, 
without  betraying  himself  by  a  groan  or  the  quiver 
ing  of  a  muscle.  The  Indians  departing  immedi 
ately,  Captain  Gregg  crawled  to  his  lifeless  com 
panion,  and  pillowed  his  head  upon  his  body  ;  while 
his  faithful  dog  ran  to  a  place  at  no  great  distance 
thence,  where  two  men  were  engaged  in  fishing, 
and,  by  his  imploring  looks  and  significant  actions, 
induced  them  to  follow  him  to  the  spot  where  lay 
his  wounded  master.  Hastening  to  the  fort,  the 
fisherman  reported  what  they  had  seen,  and  a  par 
ty  of  soldiers  being  forthwith  despatched  to  the 
place,  the  bodies  of  the  wounded  and  the  dead  were 
speedily  brought  into  the  garrison,  as  we  have  seen 
from  the  colonel's  official  account. 

Captain  Gregg  recovered  and  resumed  his  duties, 
and  having  served  to  the  end  of  the  war,  lived  many 
years  afterward. 

Another  tragic  incident  occurred  at  nearly  the 
same  time.  About  noon,  on  the  third  of  July,  the 
day  being  perfectly  clear,  Colonel  Willett  was  start 
led  from  his  siesta  by  the  report  of  musketry.  Hast 
ening  to  the  parapet  of  the  glacis,  he  saw  a  little 
girl  running  with  a  basket  in  her  hand,  while  the 
blood  was  trickling  down  her  bosom.  On  investi 
gating  the  facts,  it  appeared  that  the  girl,  with  two 
others,  was  picking  berries,  not  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  fort,  when  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  party 
of  Indians,  and  two  of  the  number  killed.  Happily, 
she  who  only  was  left  to  tell  the  tale  was  but 
slightly  wounded.  One  of  the  girls  killed  was  the 
daughter  of  an  invalid  who  had  served  many  years 
in  the  British  artillery.  He  was  entitled  to'  a  situ- 

lated  murders  by  large  bounties  for  scalps.  Twenty  dollars  is  said  to 
have  been  the  price  he  paid ;  but  his  despatch  to  Lieutenant  Bird,  be 
fore  cited,  does  not  corroborate  the  charge  of  such  inhumanity.  That 
despatch  was  a  private  document,  moreover,  not  written  for  the  light,  or 
for  effect,  and  must  therefore  be  received  as  true.  It  was  found  among 
Colonel  Gansevoort's  papers. 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  201 

ation  in  Chelsea  Hospital,  but  had  preferred  rather 
to  remain  in  the  cultivation  of  a  small  piece  of 
ground  at  Fort  Stanwix,  than  again  to  cross  the 
ocean. 

By  the  middle  of  July,  the  Indians  hovering  about 
the  fort  became  so  numerous  and  so  bold  as  to  oc 
casion  great  annoyance.  Large  parties  of  soldiers 
only  could  venture  abroad  on  the  most  pressing 
emergencies  ;  and  even  one  of  these  was  attacked, 
several  of  its  numbers  being  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  officer  in  command  taken  prisoner.  The 
force  of  the  garrison,  at  this  time,  consisted  of 
about  five  hundred  and  fifty  men  ;  ill  supplied,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  both  with  provisions  and  muni 
tions  of  war.  Fortunately,  however,  on  the  3d  of 
August,  the  very  day  of  the  investiture  of  the  fort 
by  the  advance  of  St.  Leger's  army  under  Thayen- 
danegea  and  Bird,  Lieutenant-colonel  Mellon,  of 
Colonel  Weston's  regiment,  arrived  with  two  hun 
dred  men,  and  two  batteaux  of  provisions  and  mili 
tary  stores.  Not  a  moment  was  lost  in  conveying 
these  opportune  supplies  into  the  fort.  Delay 
would,  indeed,  have  been  dangerous  ;  for  at  the  in 
stant  the  last  loads  arrived  at  the  fort,  the  enemy 
appeared  on  the  skirt  of  the  forest,  so  near  to  the 
boats,  that  the  captain  who  commanded  them  be 
came  their  prisoner. 

The  command  of  Colonel  Gansevoort  now  con 
sisted  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  all  told  ;  and 
upon  examination  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had 
provisions  for  six  weeks,  with  fixed  ammunition 
enough  for  the  small  arms.  But  for  the  cannon  they 
were  lamentably  deficient,  having  barely  enough  for 
nine  rounds  per  diem  during  the  period  specified.  A 
besieging  army  was  before  the  fort,  and  its  garrison 
was  without  a  flag !  But  as  necessity  is  the  mother 
of  invention,  they  were  not  long  thus  destitute. 
Stripes  of  white  were  cut  from  ammunition  shirts  ; 
blue  from  a  camblet  cloak  captured  from  the  ene- 
VOL.  L— Q 


202  BORDERS    WARS    OF    THE 

my ;  while  the  red  was  supplied  from  such  odds  and 
ends  of  clothes  of  that  hue  as  were  at  hand. 

Such -was  the  condition  of  Fort  Schuyler  at  the 
commencement  of  the  memorable  siege  of  1777  :  an 
event,  with  its  attending  circumstances,  forming  an 
important  feature  in  the  Northern  border  warfare 
of  the  Revolution.  Colonel  St.  Leger  himself  ar 
rived  before  the  fort  on  the  3d  of  August,  with  his 
whole  force,  a  motley  collection  of  British  regulars, 
Hessian  auxiliaries,  New- York  Loyalists,  usually 
denominated  "  Johnson's  Greens,"  together  with 
numbers  of  the  Canadians,  and  the  Indians  under 
Thayendanegea.  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  Colonels 
Glaus  and  Butler,  were  also  engaged  with  him  in 
the  expedition.  A  flag  was  sent  into  the  fort  on  the 
morning  of  that  day,  with  a  copy  of  a  rather  pom 
pous  proclamation  from  St.  Leger,  which,  it  was 
probably  supposed,  from  its  vaunting  threats  and 
lavish  promises,  might  produce  a  strong  impression 
upon  the  garrison.  The  object  of  his  address  was 
to  hold  forth  security,  and  not  depredation  ;  he  offer 
ed  employment  to  those  who  would  join  his  stand 
ard  ;  security  to  the  infirm  and  industrious  ;  and  pay 
ment  in  coin  for  all  the  supplies  the  people  would 
bring  to  his  camp. 

This  manifesto,  however,  produced  no  effect,  then 
or  afterward.  -The  siege  had  been  anticipated,  and 
the  brave  garrison,  officers  and  men,  had  counted 
the  cost,  and  determined  to  defend  the  fortress  to  the 
last.  Accordingly,  hostilities  commenced  actively 
on  the  morning  of  the  following  day.  The  Indians, 
concealing  themselves  behind  clumps  of  shrubbery 
and  stumps  of  trees,  annoyed  the  men  who  were 
employed  in  raising  the  parapets  not  a  little  with 
their  rifles.  Several  were  wounded ;  and  it  was  found 
necessary  immediately  to  station  sharp-shooters  at 
suitable  points,  to  watch  opportunities,  and  fire  in 
return.  The  5th  was  spent  in  much  the  same  man 
ner,  with  the  addition  of  the  throwing  of  a  few 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  203 

shells  by  the  enemy,  several  of  which  fell  within  the 
fort,  and  some  in  the  barracks.  On  the  evening  of 
this  day,  soon  after  it  was  dark,  the  Indians,  who 
were  at  least  one  thousand  in  number,  spread  them 
selves  through  the  woods,  completely  encircling  the 
fort,  and  commenced  a  terrible  yelling,  which  was 
continued  at  intervals  the  greater  part  of  the  night. 
Having  thus  commenced  his  operations,  Colonel 
St.  Leger  found  means  of  conveying  the  intelligence 
to  General  Burgoyne,  not  for  a  moment  anticipa 
ting  the  distressing  circumstances  in  which  the 
Northern  commander-iii-chief  already  found  him 
self  involved,  though  but  midway  in  the  career  of 
victory.  Harassed  incessantly  by  the  foes  he  had 
vanquished;  unable  to  obtain  supplies,  except  by 
sending  back  for  them  to  Fort  George,  in  which  ser 
vice  his  troops  were  already  greatly  fatigued ;  not 
one  third  of  his  horses  arrived  from  Canada ;  the 
roads  excessively  bad,  and  rendered  all  but  impas 
sable  by  a  deluge  of  rain  ;  with  only  four  days'  pro 
visions  on  hand,  the  vaunting  general,  who  had 
boasted  in  the  British  capital  that  with  ten  thousand 
men  he  could  march  through  the  whole  rebel  coun 
try  at  pleasure,  already  found  himself  in  an  unen 
viable  situation.  But  on  learning  the  advance  of 
General  St.  Leger,  he  instantly  and  justly  consider 
ed  that  a  rapid  movement  forward,  at  this  critical 
juncture,  would  be  of  the  utmost  importance.  If  the 
retreating  Americans  should  proceed  up  the  Mo 
hawk  with  a  view  of  relieving  Fort  Schuyler,  in  the 
event  of  St.  Leger's  success  against  that  place  they 
would  place  themselves  between  two  fires  ;  or  per 
haps  Burgoyne  supposed  that,  were  such  a  move 
ment  to  be  made  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  he 
might  yet  throw  his  army  between  them  and  Al 
bany,  and  thus  compel  them  either  to  stand  a  gen 
eral  engagement  or  to  strike  off  to  the  right,  and,  by 
recrossing  the  Hudson  higher  up,  secure  a  retreat 
into  New-England.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Amer- 


204  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

leans  should  abandon  Fort  Schuyler  to  its  fate,  and 
themselves  fall  back  upon  Albany,  he  argued  that 
the  Mohawk  country  would,  of  course,  be  entirely 
laid  open  to  him,  his  junction  with  St.  Leger  estab 
lished,  and  the  combined  army  be  at  liberty  to  select 
its  future  line  of  operation.  But  his  supplies  were 
inadequate  to  such  an  extensive  operation,  and  his 
army  was  too  weak  to  allow  him  to  keep  up  such  a 
chain  of  posts  as  would  enable  him  to  bring  them 
up  daily  from  the  depot  at  Lake  George.  With  a 
view,  therefore,  of  obtaining  immediate  relief,  and 
of  opening  a  new  source  of  supply,  especially  of 
cattle,  from  the  upper  settlements  of  New-England, 
the  expedition  to  Bennington,  the  place  of  deposite 
of  provisions  for  the  Provincial  forces,  was  planned, 
and  committed  to  a  detachment  of  the  Hessian 
troops,  under  Colonel  Baum,  for  execution.  The 
signal  failure  of  this  expedition  was  calculated  still 
farther  both  to  embarrass  and  depress  the  invaders  ; 
while  the  brilliant  success  of  the  militia  under  Gen 
eral  Starke  on  that  occasion,  proving,  as  it  had  done, 
that  neither  English  nor  German  troops  were  in 
vincible,  revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  dis 
heartened,  reinspired  the  people  with  confidence  of 
ultimate  success,  and  was  the  source  of  universal 
exultation. 

The  progress  of  events  brings  us  back  to  the 
lower  Valley  of  the  Mohawk.  No  sooner  was  the 
advance  of  St.  Leger  upon  Fort  Schuyler  known  to 
the  committee  and  officers  of  Tryon  county,  than 
General  Herkimer,  in  conformity  with  the  procla 
mation  heretofore  cited,  summoned  the  militia  of 
his  command  to  the  field,  for  the  purpose  of  march 
ing  to  the  succour  of  the  garrison.  Notwithstanding 
the  despondency  that  had  prevailed  in  the  early  part 
of  the  summer,  the  call  was  nobly  responded  to,  not 
only  by  the  militia,  but  by  the  gentlemen  of  the 
county,  and  most  of  the  members  of  the  committee, 
who  entered  the  field  either  as  officers  or  private 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  205 

volunteers.  The  fears  so  generally  and  so  recent 
ly  indulged  seemed  all  to  have  vanished  with  the 
arrival  of  the  invader,  and  the  general  soon  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  between  eight  hundred  and  a 
thousand  men,  all  eager  for  action  and  impatient  of 
delay.  Their  place  of  rendezvous  was  Fort  Day 
ton  (German  Flatts),  in  the  upper  section  of  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  and  the  most  beautiful.  The  regi 
ments  were  those  of  Colonels  Klock,  Visscher,  Cox, 
and  one  or  two  others,  augmented  by  volunteers 
and  volunteer  officers,  who  were  pushing  forward 
as  though  determined  at  all  hazards  to  redeem  the 
character  of  the  county.  Indeed,  their  proceedings 
were  by  far  too  impetuous,  since  they  hurried  for 
ward  in  their  march  without  order  or  precaution, 
without  adequate  flanking  parties,  and  without  re 
connoitring  the  ground  over  which  they  were  to 
pass.  They  moved  from  Fort  Dayton  on  the  4th, 
and  on  the  5th  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  Oris- 
kany,*  where  they  encamped.  From  this  point  an 
express  was  sent  forward  by  General  Herkimer  to 
apprize  Colonel  Gansevoort  of  his  approach,  and  to 
concert  measures  of  co-operation.  The  arrival  of 
the  express  at  the  fort  was  to  be  announced  by 
three  successive  discharges  of  cannon,  the  report  of 
which,  it  was  supposed,  would  be  distinctly  heard  at 
Oriskany,  only  eight  miles  distant.  Delays,  how 
ever,  intervened,  so  that  the  messengers  did  not 
reach  the  fort  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning  ;  previous  to  which,  the  camp  of  the 
enemy  being  uncommonly  silent,  a  portion  of  their 
troops  had  been  observed  by  the  garrison  to  be 
moving  along  the  edge  of  the  woods  down  the  river, 
in  the  direction  of  the  Oriskany  Creek.  The  con 
certed  signals  were  immediately  fired ;  and  as  the 
proposition  of  Horkimer  was  to  force  a  passage  to 

*  Probably  the  site  of  Whitestown.  One  of  the  MS.  narratives  in  the 
fcuthor's  possession  says  they  crossed  the  river  at  old  Fort  Schuyler  (now 
Utica). 


206  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  fort,  arrangements  were  immediately  made  by 
Colonel  Gansevoort  to  effect  a  diversion  of  the  ene 
my's  attention,  b'y  making  a  sally  from  the  fort  upon 
the  hostile  camp ;  for  which  purpose  two  hundred 
men  were  detailed,  consisting  one  half  of  Ganse- 
voort's  and  one  half  of  the  Massachusetts  troops, 
and  one  fieldpiece,  an  iron  three-pounder.  The  ex 
ecution  of  the  enterprise  was  intrusted  to  Colonel 
Willett. 

It  appears  that  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  which 
was  the  6th  of  August,  General  Herkimer  had  mis 
givings  as  to  the  propriety  of  advancing  any  farther 
without  first  receiving  re-enforcements.  His  offi 
cers,  however,  were  eager  to  press  forward.  A 
consultation  was  held,  in  which  some  of  the  officers 
manifested  much  impatience  at  any  delay,  while  the 
general  still  urged  them  to  remain  where  they  were 
until  re-enforcements  could  come  up,  or  at  least  un 
til  the  signal  of  a  sortie  should  be  received  from  the 
fort.  High  words  ensued,  during  which  Colonels 
Cox  and  Paris,  and  many  others,  denounced  their 
commander  to  his  face  as  a  Tory  and  a  coward. 
The  brave  old  man  calmly  replied  that  he  consider 
ed  himself  placed  over  them  as  a  father,  and  that  it 
was  not  his  wish  to  lead  them  to  any  difficulty  from 
which  he  could  not  extricate  them.  Burning,  as  they 
now  seemed,  to  meet  the  enemy,  he  told  them  round 
ly  that  they  would  run  at  his  first  appearance.  But  his 
remonstrances  were  unavailing.  Their  clamour  in 
creased,  and  their  reproaches  were  repeated,  until, 
stung  by  imputations  of  cowardice  and  a  want  of 
fidelity  to  the  cause,  and  somewhat  irritated,  withal, 
the  general  immediately  gave  the  order,  "  March 
on!"  The  words  were  no  sooner  heard  than  the 
troops  gave  a  shout,  and  moved,  or,  rather,  rushed 
forward.  They  marched  forward  in  files  of  two 
deep,  preceded  by  an  advanced  guard  and  keeping 
flanks  upon  each  side. 

Having,  by  10  o'clock,  proceeded  rapidly  forward 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  207 

to  the  distance  of  only  two  or  three  miles,  the 
guards,  both  front  and  flanks,  were  suddenly  shot 
down,  the  forest  rang  with  the  war-whoops  of  a  sav 
age  foe,  and  in  an  instant  the  greater  part  of  the  di 
vision  found  itself  in  the  midst  of  a  formidable  am 
buscade.  Colonel  St.  Leger,  it  appeared,  having 
heard  of  the  advance  of  General  Herkimer,  in  order 
to  prevent  an  attack  in  his  intrenchments,  had  de 
tached  a  division  of  Sir  John  Johnson's  regiment 
of  Greens,  under  Sir  John's  brother-in-law,  Major 
Watts,  Colonel  Butler  with  his  rangers,  and  Joseph 
Brant  with  a  strong  body  of  Indians,  to  intercept  his 
approach.*  With  true  Indian  sagacity,  Thayenda- 
negea  had  selected  a  position  admirably  fitted  for 
his  purpose,  which  was  to  draw  the  Americans, 
whom  he  well  knew  to  be  approaching  in  no  very 
good  military  array,  into  an  ambuscade.  The  lo 
cality  favoured  his  design.  There  was  a  deep  ravine 
crossing  the  path  which  Herkimer,  with  his  undis 
ciplined  array,  was  traversing,  "  sweeping  towards 
the  east  in  a  semicircular  form,  and  bearing  a 
northern  and  southern  direction.  The  bottom  of 
this  ravine  was  marshy,  and  the  road  crossed  it  by 
means  of  a  causeway.  The  ground,  thus  partly  en 
closed  by  the  ravine,  was  elevated  and  level.  The 
ambuscade  was  laid  upon  the  high  ground  west  of 
the  ravine." 

The  enemy  had  disposed  himself  adroitly,  in  a 
circle,  leaving  only  a  narrow  segment  open  for  the 
admission  of  the  ill-starred  Provincials  on  their  ap 
proach.  The  stratagem  was  successful.  Uncon 
scious  of  the  presence  of  the  foe,  Herkimer,  with 
his  whole  army  excepting  the  rear-guard,  composed 
of  Colonel  Visscher's  regiment,  found  himself  en- 

*  In  every  account  of  this  battle  which  has  fallen  under  the  author's 
observation,  excepting  that  of  Colonel  Willett,  Sir  John  Johnson  is  made 
the  British  commander  at  this  battle.  He  was  not  in  it  at  all,  as  will  ap 
pear  a  few  pages  forward.  Even  the  cautious  and  inquisitive  President 
Dwighf  falls  into  the  error,  nnd  carries  it  through  his  whole  account. 


208  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

compassed  at  the  first  fire,  the  enemy  closing  up 
the  gap  at  the  instant  of  making  himself  known. 
By  thus  early  completing  the  circle,  the  baggage 
and  ammunition  wagons,  which  had  just  descended 
into  the  ravine,  were  cut  off  and  separated  from  the 
main  body,  as  also  was  the  regiment  of  Colonel 
Visscher,  yet  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  ravine ; 
which,  as  their  general  had  predicted,  instantly  and 
ingloriously  fled,  leaving  their  companions  to  their 
fate.  They  were  pursued,  however,  by  a  portion  of 
the  Indians,  and  suffered  more  severely,  probably, 
than  they  would  have  done  had  they  stood  by  their 
fellows  in  the  hour  of  need,  either  to  conquer  or  to 
fall. 

Being  thrown  into  irretrievable  disorder  by  the 
suddenness  of  the  surprise  and  the  destructiveness 
of  the  fire,  which  was  close  and  brisk  from  every 
side,  the  division  was  for  a  time  threatened  with  an 
nihilation.  At  every  opportunity,  the  savages,  con 
cealed  behind  the  trunks  of  trees,  darted  forward 
with  knife  and  tomahawk  to  ensure  the  destruction 
of  those  who  fell ;  and  many  and  fierce  were  the 
conflicts  that  ensued  hand  to  hand.  The  veteran 
Herkimer  fell,  wounded,  in  the  early  part  of  the  ac 
tion,  a  musket  ball  having  passed  through  and  killed 
his  horse,  and  shattered  his  own  leg  just  below  the 
knee.  The  general  was  placed  upon  his  saddle, 
however,  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree  for  his  support, 
and  thus  continued  to  order  the  battle.  Colonel  Cox, 
and  Captains  Davis  and  Van  Sluyck,  were  severally 
killed  near  the  commencement  of  the  engagement ; 
and  the  slaughter  of  their  broken  ranks,  from  the 
rifles  of  the  Tories  and  the  spears  and  tomahawks 
of  the  Indians,  was  dreadful.  But  even  in  this  de 
plorable  situation,  the  wounded  general,  his  men 
dropping  like  leaves  around  him,  and  the  forest  re 
sounding  with  the  horrid  yells  of  the  savages,  ringing 
high  and  wild  over  the  din  of  battle,  behaved  with 
the  most  perfect  firmness  and  composure.  The 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  209 

action  had  lasted  about  forty-five  minutes,  in  great 
disorder,  before  the  Provincials  formed  themselves 
into  circles  in  order  to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  en 
emy,  who  were  concentrating,  and  closing  in  upon 
them  from  all  sides.  From  this  moment  the  re 
sistance  of  the  Provincials  was  more  effective,  and 
the  enemy  attempted  to  charge  with  the  bayonet. 
The  firing  ceased  for  a  time,  excepting  the  scatter 
ing  discharges  of  musketry  from  the  Indians ;  and 
as  the  bayonets  crossed,  the  contest  became  a  death 
struggle,  hand  to  hand  and  foot  to  foot.  Never, 
however,  did  brave  men  stand  a  charge  with  more 
dauntless  courage,  and  the  enemy  for  the  moment 
seemed  to  recoil — just  at  the  instant  when  the  work 
of  death  was  arrested  by  a  heavy  shower  of  rain, 
which  suddenly  broke  upon  the  combatants  wit! 
great  fury.  The  storm  raged  for  upward  of  an  hour 
during  which  time  the  enemy  sought  such  shelter 
as  might  be  found  among  the  trees  at  a  respectful 
distance  ;  for  they  had  already  suffered  severely, 
notwithstanding  the  advantages  in  their  favour. 

During  this  suspension  of  the  battle,  both  parties 
had  time  to  look  about,  and  make  such  new  dispo 
sitions  as  they  pleased  for  attack  and  defence,  on 
renewing  the  murderous  conflict.  The  Provincials, 
under  the  direction  of  their  general,  were  so  fortu 
nate  as  to  take  possession  of  an  advantageous  piece 
of  ground,  upon  which  his  men  formed  themselves 
into  a  circle,  and,  as  the  shower  broke  away,  awaited 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  In  the  early  part  ol 
the  battle,  the  Indians,  whenever  they  saw  a  gun 
fired  by  a  militiaman  from  behind  a  tree,  rushed 
upon  and  tomahawked  him  before  he  could  reload 
In  order  to  counteract  this  mode  of  warfare,  two  men 
were  stationed  behind  a  single  tree,  one  only  to  fire 
at  a  time,  the  other  reserving  his  fire  until  the  In 
dians  ran  up  as  before.  The  fight  was  presently  re 
newed,  and  by  the  new  arrangement,  and  the  cool 
execution  done  bv  the  fire  of  the  militia  forming 
VOL.  I.—R 


210  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  main  circle,  the  Indians  were  made  to  suffe'f 
severely;  so  much  so,  that  they  began  to  give 
way,  when  Major  Watts  came  up  with  a  re-enforce 
ment,  consisting  of  another  detachment  of  Johnson's 
Greens.  These  men  were  mostly  Loyalists,  who 
had  fled  from  Tryon  county,  now  returned  in  arms 
against  their  former  neighbours.  As  no  quarrels  are 
so  bitter  as  those  of  families,  so  no  wars  are  so  cruel 
and  passionate  as  those  called  civil.  Many  of  the 
Provincials  and  Greens  were  known  to  each  other ; 
and  as  they  advanced  so  near  as  to  afford  opportu 
nities  of  mutual  recognition,  the  contest  became,  if 
possible,  more  of  a  death  struggle  than  before.  Mu 
tual  resentments,  and  feelings  of  hate  and  revenge, 
raged  in  their  bosoms.  The  Provincials  fired  upon 
them  as  they  advanced,  and  then  springing  like 
chafed  tigers  from  their  covers,  attacked  them  with 
their  bayonets  and  the  butts  of  their  muskets,  or  both 
parties,  in  closer  contact,  throttled  each  other  and 
drew  their  knives  ;  stabbing,  and  sometimes  literally 
dying  in  one  another's  embrace. 

At  length  a  firing  was  heard  in  the  distance  from 
the  fort,  a  sound  as  welcome  to  the  Provincials  as 
it  was  astounding  to  the  enemy.  Availing  them 
selves  of  the  hint,  however,  a  ruse-de-gucrre  was  at 
tempted  by  Colonel  Butler,  which  had  wellnigh 
proved  fatal.  It  was  the  sending,  suddenly,  from 
the  direction  of  the  fort,  a  detachment  of  the  Greens 
disguised  as  American  troops,  in  the  expectation  that 
they  might  be  received  as  a  timely  re-enforcement 
from  the  garrison.  Lieutenant  Jacob  Sammons  was 
the  first  to  descry  their  approach,  in  the  direction  of 
a  body  of  men  commanded  by  Captain  Jacob  Gar- 
denier,  an  officer  who,  during  that  memorable  day, 
performed  prodigies  of  valour.  Perceiving  that 
their  hats  were  American,  Sammons  informed  Cap 
tain  Gardenier  that  succours  from  the  fort  were  com 
ing  up.  The  quick  eye  of  the  captain  detected  the 
ruse,  and  he  replied,  "  Not  so :  they  are  enemies  • 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  211 

don't  you  see  their  green  coats  !"  They  continued 
to  advance  until  hailed  by  Gardenier ;  at  which 
moment  one  of  his  own  soldiers,  observing  an  ac 
quaintance,  and  supposing  him  a  friend,  ran  to  meet 
him,  and  presented  his  hand.  It  was  grasped,  but 
with  no  friendly  gripe,  as  the  credulous  fellow  was 
dragged  into  the  opposing  line,  and  informed  that 
he  was  a  prisoner.  He  did  not  yield  without  a 
struggle  ;  during  which  Gardenier,  watching  the  ac 
tion  and  the  result,  sprang  forward,  and  with  a  blow 
from  his  spear  levelled  the  captor  to  the  dust  and 
liberated  his  man.  Others  of  the  foe  instantly  set 
upon  him,  of  whom  he  slew  the  second  and  wounded 
a  third.  Three  of  the  disguised  Greens  now  sprang 
upon  him,  and  one  of  his  spurs  becoming  entan 
gled  in  their  clothes,  he  was  thrown  to  the  ground. 
Still  contending,  however,  with  almost  superhuman 
strength,  both  of  his  thighs  were  transfixed  to  the 
earth  by  the  bayonets  of  two  of  his  assailants,  while 
the  third  presented  a  bayonet  to  his  breast,  as  if  to 
thrust  him  through.  Seizing  this  bayonet  with  his 
left  hand,  by  a  sudden  wrench  he  brought  its  owner 
down  upon  himself,  where  he  held  him  as  a  shield 
against  the  arms  of  the  others,  until  one  of  his 
own  men,  Adam  Miller,  observing  the  struggle, 
flew  to  his  rescue.  As  the  assailants  turned  upon 
their  new  adversary,  Gardenier  rose  upon  his  seat ; 
and  although  his  hand  was  severely  lacerated  by 
grasping  the  bayonet  which  had  been  drawn  through 
it,  seized  his  spear  lying  by  his  side,  and,  quick  as 
lightning,  planted  it  to  the  barb  in  the  side  of  the  as 
sailant  with  whom  he  had  been  clinched.  The  man 
fell  and  expired,  proving  to  be  Lieutenant  M'Don- 
ald,  one  of  the  Loyalist  officers  from  Tryon  county. 
All  this  occurred  in  far  less  time  than  is  necessarily 
occupied  by  the  relation.  While  engaged  in  the 
struggle,  some  of  his  own  men  called  out  to  Garde 
nier,  "  For  God's  sake,  captain,  you  are  killing  your 
own  men  !"  He  replied,  "  They  are  not  our  men — 


212  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

they  are  the  enemy — fire  away!"  A  deadly  fire 
from  the  Provincials  ensued,  during  which  about 
thirty  of  the  Greens  fell  slain,  and  many  Indian  war 
riors.  The  parties  once  more  rushed  upon  each 
other  with  bayonet  and  spear,  grappling  and  fighting 
with  terrible  fury ;  while  the  shattering  of  shafts  and 
the  clashing  of  steel  mingled  with  every  dread  sound 
of  war  and  death,  and  the  savage  yells,  more  hideous 
than  all,  presented  a  scene  which  can  be  more  easily- 
imagined  than  described.  The  unparalleled  forti 
tude  and  bravery  of  Captain  Gardenier  infused  fresh 
spirits  into  his  men,  some  of  whom  enacted  wonders 
of  valour  likewise.  It  happened  during  the  mtlee,  in 
which  the  contending  parties  were  mingled  in  great 
confusion,  that  three  of  Johnson's  Greens  rushed 
within  the  circle  of  the  Provincials,  and  attempted 
to  make  prisoner  of  a  Captain  Dillenback.  This 
officer  had  declared  he  never  would  be  taken  alive, 
and  he  was  not.  One  of  his  three  assailants  seized 
his  gun,  but  he  suddenly  wrenched  it  from  him,  and 
felled  him  with  the  butt.  He  shot  the  second  dead, 
and  thrust  the  third  through  with  his  bayonet.  But 
in  the  moment  of  his  triumph  at  an  exploit  of  which 
even  the  mighty  Hector,  or  either  of  the  sons  of 
Zeruiah  might  have  been  proud,  a  ball  laid  this  brave 
man  low  in  the  dust. 

Such  a  conflict  as  this  could  not  be  continued 
long  ;  and  the  Indians,  perceiving  with  what  ardour 
the  Provincials  maintained  the  fight,  and  finding 
their  own  numbers  sadly  diminished,  now  raised  the 
retreating  cry  of  "  Oonah  /"  and  fled  in  every  direc 
tion,  under  the  shouts  and  hurrahs  of  the  surviving 
Provincials,  and  a  shower  of  bullets.  Finding, 
moreover,  from  the  firing  at  the  fort,  that  their  pres 
ence  was  necessary  elsewhere,  the  Greens  and  Ran 
gers  now  retreated  precipitately,  leaving  the  victo 
rious  militia  of  Tryon  county  masters  of  the  field.* 

*  It  is  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  every  historian  who  has  written  of 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  213 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  severest,  and,  for  the  num 
bers  engaged,  one  of  the  most  bloody  battles  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Though  victorious,  the  loss  of 
the  Provincials  was  very  heavy ;  and  Tryon  coun 
ty  long  had  reason  to  mourn  that  day.  Colonel  Par 
is  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  enemy,  and  afterward 
murdered  by  the  Indians.  Several  other  prisoners 
were  also  killed  by  the  savages,  after  they  had  been 
brought  into  Colonel  Butler's  quarters,  and,  as  it 
was  said,  by  the  colonel's  own  tacit  consent,  if  not 
permission  in  terms.  But  the  general  character  of 
that  officer  forbids  the  imputation.*  Major  John 
Frey,  of  Colonel  Klock's  regiment,  was  likewise 
wounded  and  taken ;  and,  to  show  the  more  than 
savage  fury  burning  in  the  bosoms  of  the  men 
brought  into  conflict  on  this  occasion,  the  disgrace 
ful  fact  may  be  added,  that  his  own  brother,  who 
was  in  the  British  service,  attempted  to  take  his  life 
after  he  had  arrived  in  Butler's  camp.  The  major 
saw  his  brother  approaching  in  a  menacing  manner, 
and  called  out,  "  Brother,  do  not  kill  me !  do  you 
not  know  me  ?"  But  the  infuriated  brother  rushed 
forward,  and  the  major  was  only  saved  by  the  inter 
position  of  others.  The  whole  number  of  the  Pro 
vincial  militia  killed  was  two  hundred,  exclusive  of 
wounded  and  lost  as  prisoners.  Such,  at  least, 
was  the  American  report.  The  British  statements 

the  battle  of  Oriskuny  has  recorded  it  as  a  defeat  of  the  Provincials, 
from  Marshall  and  Ramsay  down,  to  say  nothing  of  the  British  chroni 
clers.  Such  was  also  the  author's  impression  until  he  undertook  the 
present  investigation.  Captain  Brant  himself,  in  conversation  with 
Samuel  Woodruff,  Esq.,  admitted  that  they  were  the  victors  ;  and  all  the 
written  statements  which  the  author  has  been  able  to  procure  from  the 
survivers  of  that  battle  bear  the  same  testimony. 

*  The  late  Doctor  Moses  Younglove,  of  Hudson,  Columbia  county, 
was  the  surgeon  of  General  Herkimer's  brigade.  He  was  taken  prison 
er  in  this  battle  by  a  sergeant  of  Sir  John  Johnson's  regiment.  After 
his  release,  he  made  a  deposition  setting  forth  many  grievous  barbarities 
committed,  both  by  the  Indians  and  Tories,  upon  the  prisoners  who  fell 
into  their  hands  that  day.  They  were  cruelly  tortured,  several  of  them 
murdered  ;  and,  as  the  docttfr  hud  reason  to  believe,  some  of  them  were 
subsequently  taken  to  an  island  in  Lake  Ontario,  and  eaten.  This  ia 
scarcely  to  be  believed. 


214  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

claimed  that  four  hundred  of  the  Americans  were 
killed,  and  two  hundred  taken  prisoners. 

Retaining  possession  of  the  field,  the  survivers 
immediately  set  themselves  at  work  in  construct 
ing  rude  litters,  upon  which  to  bear  off  the  wounded. 
Between  forty  and  fifty  of  these,  among  whom  was 
the  commanding  general,  were  removed  in  this 
manner.  The  brave  old  man,  notwithstanding  the 
imprudence  of  the  meaning — imprudence  in  allow 
ing  a  premature  movement  at  the  dictation  of  his 
subordinates — had  nobly  vindicated  his  character 
for  courage  during  the  day.  Though  wounded,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  the  onset,  he  had  borne  himself 
during  the  six  hours  of  conflict,  under  the  most  try 
ing  circumstances,  with  a  degree  of  fortitude  and 
composure  worthy  of  all  admiration.  Nor  was  his 
example  without  effect  in  sustaining  his  troops  amid 
the  perils  by  which  they  were  environed.  At  one 
time  during  the  battle,  while  sitting  upon  his  sad 
dle  raised  upon  a  little  hillock,  being  advised  to  se 
lect  a  less  exposed  situation,  he  replied,  "  I  will 
face  the  enemy."  Thus,  "  surrounded  by  a  few 
men,  he  continued  to  issue  his  orders  with  firmness. 
In  this  situation,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  onslaught, 
he  deliberately  took  his  tinder-box  from  his  pocket, 
lit  his  pipe,  and  smoked  with  great  composure." 
At  the  moment  the  soldiers  were  placing  him  on  the 
litter,  while  adjusting  the  blankets  to  the  poles,  three 
Indians  approached,  and  were  instantly  shot  down 
by  the  unerring  rifles  of  three  of  the  militia.  These 
were  the  last  shots  fired  in  that  battle. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy  in  this  engagement  was 
equally,  if  not  more  severe,  than  that  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  The  Greens  and  Rangers  of  Sir  John  John 
son  and  Colonel  Butler  must  have  suffered  badly, 
although  no  returns  were  given  in  the  contempora 
neous  accounts.  Major  Watts  was  severely  wound 
ed,  and  left  on  the  field,  as  was  Supposed,  among  the 
glain.  His  death  was  reported  by  Colonel  Willett, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  215 

in  his  letter  to  Governor  Trumbull,  and  by  other  au 
thorities.  But  such  was  not  the  fact.  Reviving 
from  fain ti; ess  produced  by  loss  of  blood,  some 
hours  after  the  action,  he  succeeded  in  crawling  to 
a  brook,  where,  by  slaking  kis  thirst,  he  was  pre 
served  from  speedy  death,  and  in  the  course  of  two 
or  three  days  was  found  by  some  Indian  scouts,  and 
brought  into  St.  Leger's  camp.*  But  the  Indians 
were  the  most  roughly  handled,  having  lost  nearly 
one  hundred  warriors,  several  of  whom  were  sa 
chems  in  great  favour,  Frederic  Sammons,  who 
had  been  detached  upon  a  distant  scout  previous  to 
the  battle,  returning  some  days  after,  crossed  the 
battle-field,  where,  he  says,  "I  beheld  the  most 
shocking  sight  I  had  ever  witnessed.  The  Indians 
and  white  men  were  mingled  with  one  another,  just 
as  they  had  been  left  when  death  had  first  comple 
ted  his  work.  Many  bodies  had  also  been  torn  to 
pieces  by  wild  beasts." 

It  lias  been  affirmed  that  the  Indians  were  per 
suaded  to  join  in  this  battle  only  with  great  difficul 
ty,  and  not  until  they  had  been  induced  to  sacrifice 
their  reason  to  their  appetites.  It  was  very  mani 
fest  that  during  the  action  many  of  them  were  in 
toxicated.  The  consequence  was,  that  they  suffered 
more  severely  than  ever  before.  According  to  the 

~*  This  statement  respecting  Major  Walts  \vzs  derived  from  the  late 
Mr.  John  Watts,  of  New-York,  his  brother.  As  mentioned  in  the  text, 
St.  Leger,  in  his  official  report,  did  nut  state  the  number  of  his  own  kill 
ed  and  wounded.  Colonel  Butler,  however,  wrote  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton, 
'•  Of  the  IS' ew- Yorkers,  Captain  M'Donald  was  killed,  Captain  Watts 
dangerously  wounded,  and  oue  subaltern.  Of  the  Rangers,  Captains 
Wilson  and  Hare  killed,  and  one  private  wounded.  The  Indians  suffer 
ed  much,  having  thirty-three  killed  and  twenty-nine  wounded  ;  the  Sen- 
ecus  lost  seventeen,  among  whom  were  several  of  their  chief  warriors, 
and  had  sixteen  wounded.  During  the  whole  action,  the  Indians  show 
ed  the  greatest  zeal  for  njs  majesty's  cause  ;  and  had  they  not  been  a  Jit- 
tie  too  precipitate,  scarcely  a  rebel  of  the  party  would  have  escaped. 
Most  of  the  leading  rebels  are  cutoff  in  the  action,  so  that  any  farther  at 
tempts  from  that  quarter  are  not  to  be  expected.  Captain  Watts,  of  the 
lloyal  New-Yorkers,  whose  many  amiable  qualities  deserved  a  better 
fate,  lay,  wounded  in  three  places,  upon  the  field  two  days  before  he  was 
&'Lmd.:'-  'Parlujmetitartt  Register. 


216  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

narrative  of  Mary  Jemison,  the  Indians  (at  least  the 
Senecas)  were  deceived  into  the  campaign.  "  They 
were  sent  for  to  see  the  British  whip  the  rebels. 
They  were  told  that  they  were  not  wanted  to  fight, 
but  merely  to  sit  down,  smoke  their  pipes,  and  look 
on.  The  Senecas  went  to  a  man ;  but,  contrary  to 
their  expectation,  instead  of  smoking  and  looking 
on,  they  were  obliged  to  fight  for  their  lives  ;  and  in 
the  end  of  the  battle  were  completely  beaten,  with 
a  great  loss  of  killed  and  wounded." 

The  whole  Indian  force  was  led  by  Thayendanegea 
in  person, "  the  great  captain  of  the  Six  Nations,"  as 
he  was  then  called ;  and  as  the  Cayugas  had  now 
likewise  joined  the  Mohawks  in  alliance  with  the 
arms  of  England — the  Onondagas  adopting  a  doubt 
ful  policy,  but  always,  in  fact,  acting  against  the  Pro 
vincials — he  must  have  had  a  large  force  in  the  field. 
Of  the  Senecas  alone,  thirty-six  were  killed  and  a 
great  number  wounded.  Captain  Brant  was  accus 
tomed,  long  years  afterward,  to  speak  of  the  suffer 
ings  of  his  "  poor  Mohawks"  in  that  battle.  Indeed, 
the  severity  with  which  they  were  handled  on  that 
occasion  rendered  them  morose  and  intractable  du 
ring  the  remainder  of  the  campaign ;  and  the  unhap 
py  prisoners  were  the  first  to  minister  with  their 
blood  to  their  resentment.  ;'  Our  town,"  says  Mary 
Jemison,  "  exhibited  a  scene  of  real  sorrow  and  dis 
tress  when  our  warriors  returned  and  recounted  their 
reverses,  and  stated  the  real  loss  they  had  sustained 
in  the  engagement.  The  mourning  was  excessive, 
and  was  expressed  by  the  most  doleful  yells,  shrieks, 
and  howlings,  and  by  inimitable  gesticulations." 

It  was  unfortunate  that  General  Herkimer  form 
ed  his  line  of  march  with  so  little  judgment  that, 
when  attacked,  his  men  were  in  no  situation  to  sup 
port  each  other ;  and  more  unfortunate  still,  that  he 
marched  at  all,  so  long  before  he  could  expect  to 
hear  the  concerted  signal  for  the  diversion  to  be 
made  in  his  favour  by  the  sortie  of  Colonel  Willett. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  217 

The  heavy  rainstorm,  moreover,  which  caused  a 
suspension  of  the  battle,  had  likewise  the  effect  of 
delaying  the  sally  for  nearly  an  hour.  It  was  made, 
however,  as  soon  as  it  was  practicable,  and  was  not 
only  completely  successful,  but  was  conducted  with 
such  ability  and  spirit  by  the  gallant  officer  to  whom 
it  was  confided,  as  to  win  for  him  the  applause  of 
the  foe  himself.  In  addition  to  the  two  hundred 
men  detailed  for  this  service,  under  Colonel  Wil- 
lett's  command,  as  before  stated,  fifty  more  were 
added  to  guard  the  light  iron  three-pounder  already 
mentioned. 

With  these  troops,  and  this  his  only  piece  of 
mounted  ordnance,  Colonel  Willett  lost  not  a  mo 
ment,  after  the  cessation  of  the  rain,  in  making  the 
sally.  The  enemy's  sentinels  being  directly  in 
sight  of  the  fort,  the  most  rapid  movements  were 
necessary.  The  sentinels  were  driven  in,  and  his 
advanced  guard  attacked,  before  he  had  time  to  form 
his  troops.  Sir  John  Johnson,  whose  regiment  was 
not  more  than  two  hundred  yards  distant  from  the 
advanced  guard,  it  being  very  warm,  was  in  his 
tent,  divested  of  his  coat  at  the  moment,  and  had 
not  time  to  put  it  on  before  his  camp  was  assailed. 
Such,  moreover,  were  the  celerity  of  Willett's  move 
ment  and  the  impetuosity  of  the  attack,  that  Sir 
John  could  not  bring  his  troops  into  order,  and  theii 
only  resource  was  in  flight.  The  Indian  encamp 
ment  was  next  to  that  of  Sir  John,  and,  in  turn,  was 
carried  with  equal  rapidity.  The  larger  portion  of 
the  Indians,  and  a  detachment  from  the  regiment  of 
Sir  John,  were,  at  the  very  moment  of  this  unex 
pected  assault  upon  their  quarters,  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Oriskany.  Those  who  were  left  behind 
now  betook  themselves — Sir  John  and  his  men  to 
the  river,  and  the  Indians  to  their  natural  shelter, 
the  woods,  the  troops  of  Colonel  Willett  firing 
briskly  upon  them  in  their  flight.  The  amount  of 
spoil  found  in  the  enemy's  camp  was  so  great,  that 


218  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Willett  was  obliged  to  send  hastily  to  the  fort  for 
wagons  to  convey  it  away.  Seven  of  these  vehi 
cles  were  three  times  loaded  and  discharged  in  the 
fort,  while  the  brave  little  Provincial  band  held  pos 
session  of  the  encampments.  Among  the  spoils 
thus  captured,  consisting  of  camp  equipage,  cloth 
ing,  blankets,  stores,  &c.,  were  five  British  stand 
ards,  the  baggage  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  with  all  his 
papers,  the  baggage  of  a  number  of  other  officers, 
with  memoranda,  journals,  and  orderty-books,  con 
taining  all  the  information  desirable  on  the  part  of 
the  besieged.  While  Colonel  Willett  was  returning 
to  the  fort,  Colonel  St.  Leger,  who  was  on  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  river,  attempted  a  movement  to 
intercept  him.  Willett's  position,  however,  enabled 
him  to  form  his  troops  so  as  to  give  the  enemy  a 
full  fire  in  front,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  en 
filaded  by  the  fire  of  a  small  fieldpiece.  The  dis 
tance  was  not  more  than  sixty  yards  between  them ; 
and  although  St.  Leger  was  not  backward  in  return 
ing  the  fire,  his  aim  was,  nevertheless,  so  wild  as  to 
be  entirely  without  effect.  The  assailants  returned 
into  the  fortress  in  triumph,  without  having  lost  a 
man ;  the  British  Hags  were  hoisted  on  the  flagstaff' 
under  the  American  ;  and  the  men,  ascending  the 
parapets,  gave  three  as  hearty  cheers  as  were  ever 
shouted  by  the  same  number  of  voices.  Among  the 
prisoners  brought  off  by  the  victors  was  Lieutenant 
Singleton,  of  Sir  John  Johnson's  regiment.  Several 
Indians  were  found  dead  in  their  camp,  and  others 
were  killed  in  crossing  the  river.  The  loss  to  the 
enemy,  particularly  in  stores  and  baggage,  was 
great ;  while  the  affair  itself  was  of  still  more  im 
portance,  from  the  new  spirit  of  patriotic  enthusi 
asm  with  which  it  inspired  the  little  garrison.  For 
this  chivalrous  exploit,  Congress  passed  a  resolution 
of  thanks,  and  directed  the  commissary-general  of 
military  stores  to  procure  an  elegant  sword,  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  219 

present  the  same  to  Colonel  Willett  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States. 

General  Herkimer  did  not  long  survive  the  battle. 
He  was  conveyed  to  his  own  house  near  the  Mo 
hawk  River,  a  few  miles  below  the  Little  Falls, 
where  his  leg,  which  had  been  shattered  five  or  six 
inches  below  the  knee,  was  amputated  about  ten 
days  after  the  battle,  by  a  young  French  surgeon  in 
the  army  of  General  Arnold,  and  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  the  general's  own  medical  adviser,  the 
late  Doctor  Petrie.     But  the  operation  was  unskil 
fully  performed,  and  it  was  found  impossible  by  his 
attendants  to  stanch  the  blood.      Colonel  Willett 
called  to  see  the  general  soon  after  the  operation. 
He  was  sitting  up  in  his  bed,  with  a  pipe  in  his 
mouth,  smoking,  and  talking  in  excellent  spirits. 
He  died  the  night  following  that  visit.     His  friend, 
Colonel  John  Roff,  was  present  at  the  amputation, 
and  affirmed  that  he  bore  the  operation  with  uncom 
mon  fortitude.     He  was  likewise  with  him  at  the 
time  of  his  death.     The  blood  continuing  to  flow- 
there  being  no  physician  in  immediate  attendance 
— and  being  himself  satisfied  that  the  time  of  his 
departure  was  nigh,  the  veteran  directed  the  Holy 
Bible  to  be  brought  to  him.     He  then  opened  it  and 
read,  in  the  presence  of  those  who  surrounded  his 
bed,  with  all  the  composure  which  it  was  possible 
for  any  man  to  exhibit,  the  thirty-eighth  Psalm, 
applying  it  to  his  own  situation.     He  soon  after 
ward    expired  ;    and   it    may  well  be    questioned 
whether  the  annals  of  man  furnish  a  more  striking 
example   of  Christian   heroism — calm,  deliberate, 
and  firm  in  the  hour  of  death— than  is  presented  in 
this  remarkable  instance.     Of  the  .early  history  of 
General  Herkimer  but  little  is  known.     It  has  been 
already  stated  that  his  family  was  one  of  the  first 
of  the  Germans  who  planted  themselves  in  the  Mo 
hawk  Valley  ;  and  the  massive  stone  mansion,  yet 
standing  at  German  Flatts,  bespeaks  its  early  opu- 


220  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

lence.  He  was  an  uneducated  man,  with,  if  pos 
sible,  less  skill  in  letters  even  than  General  Put 
nam,  which  is  saying  much.  But  he  was,  neverthe 
less,  a  man  of  strong  and  vigorous  understanding 
destitute  of  some  of  the  essential  requisites  of  gen 
eralship,  but  of  the  most  cool  and  dauntless  cour 
age.  These  traits  were  all  strikingly  disclosed  in 
the  brief  and  bloody  expedition  to  Oriskany.  But 
he  must  have  been  well  acquainted  with  that  most 
important  of  all  books — THE  BIBLE.  Nor  could  the 
most  learned  biblical  scholar,  lay  or  clerical,  have 
selected  a  portion  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  more 
exactly  appropriate  to  the  situation  of  the  dying 
soldier  than  that  to  which  he  himself  spontane 
ously  turned.  If  Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher, 
and  Rousseau  like  an  unbelieving  sentimentalist, 
General  Herkimer  died  like  a  CHRISTIAN  HERO.  Con 
gress  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  New- York  to  erect  a  monument,  at 
the  expense  of  the  United  States,  to  the  memory  of 
this  brave  man,  of  the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars 
This  resolution  was  transmitted  to  the  Governor  of 
New- York,  George  Clinton,  in  a  letter,  from  which 
the  following  passage  is  quoted  :  "  Every  mark  of 
distinction  shown  to  the  memory  of  such  illustrious 
men  as  offer  up  their  lives  for  the  liberty  and  hap 
piness  of  their  country,  reflects  real  honour  on 
those  who  pay  the  tribute  ;  and,  by  holding  up  to 
others  the  prospect  of  fame  and  immortality,  will 
animate  them  to  tread  in  the  same  path."  Govern 
or  Clinton  thus  wrote  to  the  committee  of  Try  on 
county  on  the  occasion  :  "  Enclosed  you  have  a  let 
ter  and  resolves  of  Congress  for  erecting  a  monument 
to  the  memory  of  your  late  gallant  general.  While 
with  you  I  lament  the  cause,  I  am  impressed  with  a 
due  sense  of  the  great  and  justly  merited-honour 
the  continent  has,  in  this  instance,  paid  to  the  mem 
ory  of  that  brave  man."  Such  were  the  feelings  of 
respect  for  the  services  and  memory  of  the  deceas- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  221 

ed  entertained  by  the  great  men  of  that  day.  Sixty 
years  have  since  rolled  away,  and  the  journal  of 
Congress  is  the  only  monument,  and  the  resolution 
itself  the  only  inscription,  which  as  yet  testify  the 
gratitude  of  the  Republic  to  GENERAL  NICHOLAS  HER- 
KIMER. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THOUGH  in  fact  defeated  at  Oriskany,  the  enemy 
claimed,  as  we  have  seen,  a  victory.  In  one  sense, 
it  is  true,  the  achievement  was  theirs.  They  had 
prevented  the  advance  of  the  Americans  to  the  suc 
cour  of  the  fort,  and  on  their  retreat  the  Americans 
were  unable  to  pursue.  Still  the  field  was  won, 
and  retained  by  them.  Availing  himself  of  his 
questionable  success,  however,  and  well  knowing 
that  days  must  probably  elapse  before  the  garrison 
could  become  apprized  of  the  whole  circumstances 
of  the  engagement  and  its  issue,  St.  Leger  lost  no 
time  in  endeavouring,  by  false  representations,  to 
press  the  besieged  to  a  capitulation.  On  the  same 
night  of  the  battle,  therefore,  at  nine  o'clock,  Col 
onel  Bellinger  and  Major  Frey,  being  in  St.  Leger's 
camp  as  prisoners,  were  compelled  to  address  a 
note  to  Colonel  Gansevoort,  greatly  exaggerating 
the  disasters  of  the  day,  and  strongly  urging  a  sur 
render.  In  this  letter  they  spoke  of  the  defeat  at 
Oriskany,  of  the  impossibility  of  receiving  any  far 
ther  succour  from  below,  of  the  formidable  force  of 
St.  Leger,  together  with  his  train  of  artillery,  an 
nounced  the  probable  fact  that  Burgoyne  and  his 
army  were  then  before  Albany,  and  stated  that 
longer  resistance  wrould  only  result  in  "inevitable 
ruin  and  destruction."  The  letter  was  transmitted 


222  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

to  Colonel  Gansevoort  by  St.  Lexer's  adjutant- 
general,  Colonel  Butler,  who,  in  delivering  it,  made 
a  verbal  demand  of  surrender.  Colonel  Gansevoort 
replied  that  he  would  give  no  answer  to  a  verbal 
summons,  unless  delivered  by  Colonel  St.  Leger 
himself,  but  at  the  mouth  of  his  cannon. 

On  the  following  day  a  white  flag  approached  the 
garrison,  with  a  request  that  Colonel  Butler,  and 
two  other  officers,  might  be  admitted  into  the  fort 
as  bearers  of  a  message  to  the  commanding  officer. 
Permission  being  granted,  those  officers  were  con 
ducted  blindfolded  into  the  fort,  and  received  by 
Colonel  Gansevoort  in  his  dining-room.  The  win 
dows  of  the  room  were  shut,  and  candles  lighted  ; 
a  table  was  also  spread^  upon  which  were  placed 
some  slight  refreshments.  Colonels  Willett  and 
Mellen  were  present  at  the  interview,  together  with 
as  many  of  the  American  officers  as  could  be  ac 
commodated  in  the  quarters  of  their  commander. 
After  the  officers  were  seated  and  the  wine  had 
been  passed  around,  Major  Ancrom,  one  of  the  mes 
sengers,  addressed  Colonel  Gansevoort  in  substance 
as  follows  : 

"  I  am  directed  by  Colonel  St.  Leger,  the  officer 
commanding  the  army  now  investing  this  fort,  to  in 
form  the  commandant  that  the  colonel  has,  with 
much  difficulty,  prevailed  on  the  Indians  to  agree 
that  if  the  fort,  without  farther  resistance,  shall  be 
delivered  Up,  with  the  public  stores  belonging  to  it, 
to  the  investing  army,  the  officers  and  soldiers  shall 
have  all  their  baggage  and  private  property  secured 
to  them.  And  in  order  that  the  garrison  may  have 
a  sufficient  pledge  to  this  effect,  Colonel  Butler  ac 
companies  me,  to  assure  them  that  not  a  hair  of  the 
head  of  any  one  of  them  shall  be  hurt/'  (Here 
turning  to  Colonel  Butler,  he  said,  "  That,  I  think, 
was  the  expression  they  made  use  of,  was  it  not  ?" 
to  which  the  colonel  answered,  "  Yes.'1)  "  I  am 
likewise  directed  to  remind  the  commandant  thai 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  223 

the  defeat  of  General  Herkimer  must  deprive  the 
garrison  of  all  hopes  of  relief,  especially  as  General 
Burgoyne  is  now  in  Albany  ;  so  that,  sooner  or 
later,  the  fort  must  fall  into  our  hands.  Colonel 
St.  Leger,  from  an  earnest  desire  to  prevent  farther 
bloodshed,  hopes  these  terms  will  not  be  refused, 
as  in  this  case  it  will  be  out  of  his  power  to  make 
them  again.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  the  Indians 
consented  to  the  present  arrangement,  as  it  will  de 
prive  them  of  that  plunder  which  they  always  cal 
culate  upon  on  similar  occasions.  Should,  then,  the 
present  terms  be  rejected,  it  will  be  out  of  the  pow 
er  of  the  colonel  to  restrain  the  Indians,  who  are 
very  numerous,  and  much  exasperated,  not  only 
from  plundering  the  property,  but  destroying  the 
lives,  probably,  of  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison. 
Indeed,  the  Indians  are  so  exceedingly  provoked 
and  mortified  by  the  losses  they  have  sustained  in 
the  late  actions,  having  had  several  of  their  favourite 
chiefs  killed,  that  they  threaten — and  the  colonel,  if 
the  present  arrangements  should  not  be  entered  into, 
will  not  be  able  to  prevent  them  from  executing 
their  threats — to  march  down  the  country,  and  de 
stroy  the  settlement,  with  its  inhabitants.  In  this 
case,  not  only  men,  but  women  and  children,  will  ex 
perience  the  sad  effects  of  their  vengeance.  These 
considerations,  it  is  ardently  hoped,  will  produce  a 
proper  effect,  and  induce  the  commandant,  by  com 
plying  with  the  terms  now  offered,  to  save  himself 
from  future  regret,  when  it  will  be  too  late." 

This  singular  oration  was  of  course  delivered  ex 
temporaneously,  as  also  was  the  following  reply,  by 
Colonel  Willett,  with  the  approbation  of  Colonel 
Gansevoort : 

"  Do  I  understand  you,  sir  1  I  think  you  say  that 
you  come  from  a  British  colonel,  who  is  command 
er  of  the  army  that  invests  this  fort ;  and,  by  your 
uniform,  you  appear  to  be  an  officer  in  the  British 
service.  You  have  made  a  long  speech  on  the  oc- 


224  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

casion  of  your  visit,  which,  stripped  of  all  its  super 
fluities,  amounts  to  this  :  that  you  come  from  a  Brit 
ish  colonel  to  the  commandant  of  this  garrison,  to 
tell  him  that,  if  he  does  not  deliver  up  the  fort  into 
the  hands  of  your  colonel,  he  will  send  his  Indians 
to  murder  our  women  and  children.  You  will  please 
to  reflect,  sir,  that  their  blood  will  be  on  your 
head,  not  on  ours.  We  are  doing  our  duty ;  this 
fort  is  committed  to  our  charge,  and  we  will  take 
care  of  it.  After  you  get  out  of  it,  you  may  turn 
round  and  look  at  its  outside,  but  nev.er  expect  to 
come  in  again,  unless  you  come  a  prisoner.  I  con 
sider  the  message  you  have  brought  a  degrading  one 
for  a  British  officer  to  send,  and  by  no  means  repu 
table  for  a  British  officer  to  carry.  For  my  own 
part,  I  declare,  before  I  would  consent  to  deliver 
this  fort  to  such  a  murdering  set  as  your  army,  by 
your  own  account,  consists  of,  I  would  suffer  my 
body  to  be  filled  with  splinters  and  set  on  fire,  as 
you  know  has  at  times  been  practised  by  such 
hordes  of  women  and  children  killers  as  belong  to 
your  army." 

Colonel  Willett  observes,  in  his  narrative,  whence 
these  facts  are  drawn,  that  in  the  delivery  he  looked 
the  British  major  full  in  the  face  ;  and  that  he  spoke 
with  emphasis  is  not  doubted.  The  sentiments  con 
tained  in  this  reply  were  received  with  universal  ap 
plause  by  the  Provincial  officers,  who,  far  from  be 
ing  intimidated  by  the  threats  of  the  messengers, 
were  at  once  impressed  with  the  idea  that  such 
pressing  efforts  to  induce  a  capitulation  could  only 
be  the  effect  of  doubt,  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  him 
self,  of  his  ability  either  to  sustain  the  siege  or  car 
ry  the  works  by  assault.  Before  the  interview  was 
closed,  Major  Ancrom  requested  that  an  English 
surgeon  who  was  with  him  might  be  permitted  to 
visit  the  British  wounded  in  the  fort,  which  request 
was  granted.  Major  Ancrom  also  proposed  an  ar 
mistice  for  three  days,  which  was  likewise  agreed 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  225 

to  by  Colonel  Gansevoort — the  more  readily,  prob 
ably,  because  of  his  scanty  supply  of  ammunition. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  Colonel  Gansevoort  having 
refused  to  recognise  any  verbal  messages  from  the 
British  commander,  Colonel  St.  Leger  transmitted 
the  substance  of  Major  Ancrom's  speech  in  the  form 
of  a  letter,  protesting  that  no  indignity  was  intend 
ed  by  the  delivery  of  such  a  message — a  message 
that  had  been  insisted  upon  categorically  by  the  In 
dians — and  formally  renewing  the  summons  of  a 
surrender  ;  adding,  that  the  Indians  were  becoming 
exceedingly  impatient,  and  if  the  proposition  should 
be  rejected,  the  refusal  would  be  attended  with  very 
fatal  consequences,  not  only  to  the  garrison,  but  to 
the  whole  country  of  the  Mohawk  River. 

The  reply  of  Colonel  Gansevoort  was  written 
with  soldierly  brevity,  in  the  following  words  : 

COL.  GASNEVOORT  TO  COL.  ST.  LEGER. 

"  Fort  Schuyler,  Aug.  9th,  1777. 
"  SIR, 

"  Your  letter  of  this  day's  date  I  have  received, 
in  answer  to  which  I  say,  that  it  is  my  determined 
resolution,  with  the  forces  under  my  command,  to 
defend  this  fort  to  the  last  extremity,  in  behalf  of  the 
United  American  States,  who  have  placed  me  here 
to  defend  it  against  all  their  enemies. 
"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir, 

"  Your  most  ob't  humble  serv't, 

"  PETER  GANSEVOORT, 
"  Col.  commanding  Fort  Schuyler. 
"  Gen.  Barry  St.  Leger." 

Failing  in  these  attempts  to  induce  a  surrender, 
the  besiegers,  four  days  afterward,  had  recourse  to 
another  expedient.  It  was  the  issuing  of  an  appeal  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Tryon  county,  signed  by  Sir  John 
Johnson,  Colonel  Claus,  and  Colonel  John  Butler, 
similar  in  its  tenour  to  the  verbal  and  written  messa 
ges  of  St.  Leger  to  Colonel  Gansevoort.  Messen- 
VOL.  I.— S 


226  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

gers  were  despatched  with  this  document  into  Try- 
on  county,  but-  to  no  good  purpose ;  while,  as  will 
soon  appear,  some  of  those  messengers  were  in 
volved  in  serious  difficulty  by  their  errand. 

But  if  Colonel  Willett's  success  in  the  brilliant 
execution  of  the  sortie  on  the  6th  entitled  him,  as  it 
unquestionably  did,  to  the  commendations  he  re 
ceived,  a  still  more  perilous  enterprise,  undertaken 
by  him  a  few  days  afterward,  was  thought,  alike  by 
friends  and  foes,  to  entitle  him  to  still  greater  ap 
plause.  The  artillery  of  the  besiegers  was  not  suf 
ficiently  heavy  to  make  any  impression  upon  the 
works,  and  there  was  every  probability  that  the  gar 
rison  might  hold  out  until  succours  should  be  ob 
tained,  could  their  situation  be  made  known.  Col 
onel  Willett  was  not  only  well  acquainted,  but  ex 
ceedingly  popular,  in  Tryon  county  ;  and  it  was  sup 
posed  that,  should  he  show  himself  personally  among 
the  militia  of  that  district,  notwithstanding  the  ex 
tent  of  their  suffering  in  the  late  expedition,  he  might 
yet  rally  a  force  sufficient  to  raise  the  siege.  The 
bold  project  was  therefore  conceived  by  him  of 
passing  at  night,  in  company  with  another  officer, 
through  the  enemy's  works,  and,  regardless  of  the 
danger  from  the  prowling  savages,  making  his  way 
through  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  sunken  morass 
es  and  pathless  woods,  in  order  to  raise  the  county 
and  bring  relief.  Selecting  Major  Stockwell  for  his 
companion,  Colonel  Willett  undertook  the  expedi 
tion  on  the  10th,  and  left  the  fort  at  ten  o'clock  that 
night,  each  armed  with  nothing  but  a  spear,  and  pro 
vided  only  with  a  small  supply  of  crackers  and 
cheese,  a  small  canteen  of  spirits,  and  in  all  other 
respects  unencumbered,  even  by  a  blanket.  Having 
emerged  from  the  sally-port,  they  crept  upon  their 
hands  and  knees  along  the  edge  of  a  morass  to  the 
river,  which  they  crossed  by  crawling  over  upon  a 
log,  and  succeeded  in  getting  off  unperceived  by  the 
sentinels  of  the  enemy,  although  passing  very  near 


AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  '227 

to  them.  Their  first  advance  was  into  a  deep-tan 
gled  forest,  in  which,  enveloped  in  thick  darkness, 
they  lost  their  direction,  and  found  it  impossible  to 
proceed.  While  in  this  state  of  uncertainty,  the 
barking  of  a  dog  added  little  to  their  comfort,  inas 
much  as  it  apprized  them  that  they  were  not  far 
from  a  new  Indian  encampment,  formed  subsequent 
to  the  sortie  a  few  days  before.  They  were  there 
fore  compelled  to  stand  perfectly  still  for  several 
hours,  and  until  the  morning  star  appeared  to  guide 
their  way.  Striking  first  in  a  northern  direction  for 
several  miles,  and  then  eastwardly,  they  traced  a 
zigzag  course,  occasionally  adopting  the  Indian 
method  of  concealing  their  trail  by  walking  in  the 
channels  of  streams,  and  by  stepping  on  stones 
along  the  river's  edge.  In  this  way  they  travelled 
the  whole  of  the  ensuing  day,  without  making  a  sin 
gle  halt.  On  the  approach  of  night  they  dared  not 
to  strike  a  light,  but  lay  down  to  sleep  interlocked 
in  each  other's  arms.  Pursuing  their  journey  on 
the  12th,  their  little  stock  of  provisions  being  ex 
hausted,  they  fed  upon  raspberries  and  blackberries, 
of  which  they  found  abundance  in  an  opening  occa 
sioned  by  a  windfall.  Thus  refreshed,  they  pushed 
forward  with  renewed  vigour,  and  at  an  accelerated 
pace,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Dayton  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.* 

The  colonel  and  his  friend  received  a  hearty  wel 
come  from  Colonel  Weston,  whose  regiment  was 
then  in  charge  of  Fort  Dayton,  and  from  whom  he 
obtained  the  agreeable  intelligence  that,  on  learning 
the  news  of  General  Herkimer's  disaster,  General 
Schuyler  had  ordered  Generals  Arnold  and  Lamed, 
with  the  Massachusetts  brigade,  to  march  to  the  re 
lief  of  Colonel  Gansevoort.  Colonel  Willett  there 
upon  took  horse  immediately  for  Albany  to  meet 

*  "  So  successful  was  Colonel  Willett  in  all  his  movements,  that  the 
Indians,  believing  him  to  be  possessed  of  supernatural  power,  gave  to 
him  the  name  of  the  Devil."— Campbell. 


228  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

General  Arnold,  who  was  to  command  the  expedi 
tion  ;  and  in  four  days  afterward  accompanied  Arnold 
back  to  Fort  Dayton,  where  the  troops  were  assem 
bling.  The  first  New- York  regiment  had  been  add 
ed  to  the  brigade  of  General  Larned,  who  was  yet 
in  the  rear  bringing  up  the  heavy  baggage  and  stores. 
During  Willett's  brief  absence  to  Albany,  an  in 
cident  occurred  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fort  Day 
ton,  showing  that,  if  he  had  been  active  in  his  at 
tempts  to  bring  succours  to  the  fort,  the  enemy,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  not  been  idle.  About  two  miles 
above  Fort  Dayton  resided  a  Mr.  Shoemaker,  a  dis 
affected  gentleman,  who  had  been  in  his  majesty's 
commission  of  the  peace.  Having  heard  of  a  clan 
destine  meeting  of  Tories  at  the  house  of  that  gen 
tleman,  Colonel  Weston  despatched  a  detachment 
of  troops  thither,  which  came  upon  the  assemblage 
by  surprise,  and  took  them  all  prisoners.  Among 
them  was  Lieutenant  Walter  N.  Butler,  from  St. 
Leger's  army,  who,  with  fourteen  white  soldiers 
and  the  same  number  of  Indians,  had  visited  the 
German  Flatts  secretly,  with  the  appeal  of  Sir 
John  Johnson,  Glaus,  and  the  elder  Butler,  referred 
to  in  a  preceding  page,  for  the  purpose  of  persuading 
the  timid  and  disaffected  inhabitants  to  abandon  the 
Provincial  cause,  and  enrol  themselves  with  the 
king's  army  before  Fort  Schuyler.  Butler  was  in 
the  midst  of  his  harangue  to  the  meeting  at  the  mo 
ment  of  the  unwelcome  surprise.  General  Arnold 
ordered  a  court-martial,  and  caused  him  to  be  tried 
as  a  spy.  Of  this  tribunal  Colonel  Willett  officia 
ted  as  judge-advocate.  The  lieutenant  was  con 
victed,  and  received  sentence  of  death ;  but,  at  the 
intercession  of  a  number  of  officers  who  had  known 
him  while  a  student  at  law  in  Albany,  his  life  was 
spared  by  a  reprieve.  He  was,  however,  removed 
to  Albany,  and  closely  imprisoned  until  the  spring 
of  the  following  year.  When  General  the  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  assumed  the  command  of  the  Northern 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  229 

department,  the  friends  of  the  Butler  family,  in  con- 
3equence,  as  it  was  alleged,  of  his  ill  health,  inter 
ceded  for  a  mitigated  form  of  imprisonment.  He 
was  then  removed  to  a  private  house  and  kept  un 
der  guard,  but  short.ly  afterward  effected  his  escape — 
owing,  it  was  reported,  to  treachery— and  was  sub 
sequently  distinguished  as  one  of  the  severest 
scourges  of  the  beautiful  valley  which  had  given 
him  birth. 

The  address  of  Johnson,  Claus,  and  Butler  hav 
ing  been  thus  introduced  among  the  people  of  the 
county,  Arnold  issued  a  proclamation  from  Fort 
Dayton  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  its  influ 
ence.  It  was  couched  in  severe  language  in  regard 
to  St.  Leger  and  his  heterogeneous  army ;  denoun 
ced  those  of  the  people  who  might  be  seduced  by  his 
arts  to  enrol  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the 
king;  but  promised  pardon  to  all,  whether  Ameri 
cans,  savages,  Germans,  or  Britons,  who  might  re 
turn  to  their  duty  to  the  states. 

Meantime,  Colonel  St.  Leger  was  pushing  his  op 
erations  before  the  fort  with  considerable  vigour. 
Every  effort  to  intimidate  the  garrison  having  fail 
ed,  and  the  commander  exhibiting  an  unsubmitting 
spirit,  St.  Leger  commenced  approaching  by  sap, 
and  had  formed  two  parallels,  the  second  of  which 
brought  him  near  the  edge  of  the  glacis  ;  but  the  fire 
of  musketry  from  the  covert  way  rendered  his  far 
ther  progress  very  difficult.  The  fire  of  his  ord 
nance  producing  no  effect,  his  only  means  of  annoy 
ing  the  garrison  was  by  throwing  shells ;  but  these 
proved  of  so  little  consequence  as  to  afford  a  dis 
couraging  prospect  of  success.  Having  advanced, 
however,  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  it  is 
not  to  be  denied  that  some  uneasiness  began  to  be 
manifested  within  the  garrison.  Ignorant  of  the 
fate  of  Colonel  Willett  and  Major  Stockwell,  and  en 
tirely  cut  off  from  all  communication  from  without, 
their  provisions  daily  oxhausting,  and  having  no  cer- 


230  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE  ' 

tain  prospect  of  relief,  some  of  the  officers  com 
menced  speaking  in  whispers  of  the  expediency  of 
saving  the  garrison  from  a  re-enactment  of  the 
Fort  William  Henry  tragedy,  by  acceding  to  St. 
Leger's  proffered  terms  of  capitulation.  Not  so  the 
commander.  After  weighing  well  the  circumstan 
ces  of  the  case,  he  came  to  the  deliberate  resolve, 
in  the  event  of  obtaining  no  succour  from  withoutr 
when  his  provisions  were  about  exhausted,  to  make 
a  sally  at  night,  and  cut  his  way  through  the  en 
campment  of  the  besiegers,  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 
Fortunately,  the  necessity  of  executing  the  bold 
determination  did  not  arrive.  The  siege  had  con 
tinued  until  the  22d  of  August,  when  suddenly,  with 
out  any  cause  within  the  knowledge  of  the  garrison, 
the  besiegers  broke  up  their  encampment,  and  reti 
red  in  such  haste  and  confusion  as  to  leave  their 
tents,  together  with  a  great  part  of  their  artillery, 
camp  equipage,  and  baggage  behind.  What  was 
the  motive  for  this  unexpected  flight  of  a  vaunting 
and  all  but  victorious  foe,  was  a  problem  they  were 
unable  to  solve  within  the  fort,  although  their  joy 
was  not,  on  that  account,  the  less  at  their  deliver 
ance.  It  subsequently  appeared  that  the  panic 
which  produced  this  welcome  and  unexpected 
change  in  the  situation  of  the  garrison  was  caused 
by  a  ruse-de-guerre,  practised  upon  the  forces  of  St. 
Leger  by  General  Arnold,  who  had  been  waiting 
at  Fort  Dayton  several  days  for  the  arrival  of  re-en 
forcements  and  supplies.  But,  having  heard  that 
St.  Leger  had  made  his  approaches  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  fort,  Arnold,  on  the  22d  of  August, 
determined,  at  all  events,  to  push  forward  and  haz 
ard  a  battle,  rather  than  see  the  garrison  fall  a  sac 
rifice.  With  this  view,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d 
he  resumed  his  march  for  Fort  Schuyler,  and  had 
proceeded  ten  miles  of  the  distance  from  Fort  Day 
ton,  when  he  was  met  by  an  express  from  Colonel 
Gansevoort  with  the  gratifying  intelligence  that  the 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  231 

siege  had  been  raised.  The  cause  of  this  sudden 
movement  was  yet  as  great  a  mystery  to  the  colo 
nel  and  his  garrison  as  was  the  flight  of  the  host  of 
Ben-hadad  from  before  Samaria  to  the  King  of  Isra 
el,  when  the  Syrian  monarch  heard  the  supernatural 
sound  of  chariots,  and  the  noise  of  horses,  in  the 
days  of  Elisha  the  prophet.  Arnold  was,  of  course, 
less  in  the  dark.  The  circumstances  were  these : 

Among  the  party  of  Tories  and  Indians  captu 
red  at  Shoemaker's,  under  Lieutenant  Butler,  was 
a  singular  being  named  HON-YOST  SCHUYLER.  His 
place  of  residence  was  near  the  Little  Falls,  where 
his  mother,  and  a  brother  named  Nicholas,  were 
then  residing.  Hon-Yost  Schuyler  was  one  of  the 
coarest  and  most  ignorant  men  in  the  valley,  ap 
pearing  scarce  half  removed  from  idiocy  ;  and  yet 
there  was  no  small  share  of  shrewdness  in  his 
character.  Living  upon  the  extreme  border  of  civi 
lization,  his  associations  had  been  more  with  the 
Indians  than  the  whites ;  and  tradition  avers  that 
they  regarded  him  writh  that  mysterious  reverence 
and"  awe  with  which  they  are  inspired  by  fools  and 
lunatics.  Thus  situated,  and  thus  constituted,  Hon- 
Yost  had  partially  attached  himself  to  the  Royalist 
cause,  though  probably,  like  the  Cowboys  of  West 
Chester,  he  really  cared  little  which  party  he  served 
or  plundered ;  and  had  he  been  the  captor  of  the 
unfortunate  Andre,  would  have  balanced  probabili 
ties  as  to  the  best  way  of  turning  the  prize  to  ac 
count.  Be  these  things,  however,  as  they  may, 
Hon-Yost  was  captured  with  Walter  Butler,  and, 
like  him,  was  tried  for  his  life,  adjudged  guilty,  and 
condemned  to  death.  His  mother  and  brother  hear 
ing  of  his  situation,  hastened  to  Fort  Dayton,  and 
implored  General  Arnold  to  spare  his  life.  The  old 
woman  strongly  resembled  the  gipsy  in  her  char 
acter,  and  the  eloquence  and  pathos  with  which  she 
pleaded  for  the  life  of  her  son  were  long  remem 
bered  in  the  unwritten  history  of  the  Mohawk  Val- 


232  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ley.     Arnold  was   for  a  time  inexorable,  and  the 
woman  became  almost  frantic  with  grief  and  pas 
sion  on   account  of  her  wayward  son.     Nicholas, 
likewise,  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  in  behalf 
of  his  brother.     At  length  General  Arnold  proposed 
terms  upon  which  his  life  should  be  spared.     The 
conditions  were,  that  Hon-Yost  should  hasten  to 
Fort  Schuyler,  and  so  alarm  the  camp  of  St.  Leger 
as  to  induce  him  to  raise  the  siege  and  fly. 
convict-traitor  gladly  accepted  the  proposition  and 
his  mother  offered  herself  as  a  hostage  for  the  faith 
ful  performance  of  his  commission.     Arnold,  how 
ever,  declined  receiving  the  woman  as  a  hostage, 
preferring,  and  insisting  that  Nicholas  should  be  re 
tained  for  that  purpose.     To  this  the  latter  readily 
assented,  declaring  that  he  was  perfectly  willing  to 
pledge  his  life  that  Hon-Yost  would  fulfil  his  en- 
Saffements  to  the  utmost.     Nicholas  was  therefore 
placed  in  confinement,  while   Hon-Yost  departed 
for  the  camp  of  Colonel  St.  Leger,  having  made 
an  arrangement  with  one  of  the  Oneida  Indians, 
friendly  to  the  Americans,  to  aid  him  in  the  enter 
prise      Before   his   departure   several  shots  were 
fired  through  Schuyler's  clothes,  that  he  might  ap 
pear  to  have  had  a  narrow  escape  ;  and  the  Oneida 
Indian,  by  taking  a  circuitous  route  to  lort  bchuy- 
ler  was  to  fall  into  the  enemy's  camp  from  another 
direction,  and  aid  Hon-Yost  in  creating  the  pan 
desired.  The  emissary  first  presented  himself  among 
the  Indians,  who  were  in  a  very  suitable  state  ol 
mind  to  be  wrought  upon  by  exactly  such  a  person 
age      They  had  been  moody  and  dissatisfied  evei 
since  the  battle  of  Oriskany ;  neither  the  success 
nor  the  plunder  promised  them  had  been  won,  and 
they  had  previously  received  some  vague  and  indefi 
nite  intelligence  respecting  the  approach  of  Arnold. 
They  had  likewise  just  been  holding  a  pow-wow, 
or  were  actually  convened  in  one,  for  the  purpose 
of  consulting  the  Manitto  touching  the  dubious  ea- 


AMERICAN     REVOLUTION.  .     233 

terprise  in  which  they  were  engaged  when  Hon- 
Yost  arrived.  Knowing  their  character  well,  he 
communicated  his  intelligence  to  them  in  the  most 
mysterious  and  imposing  manner.  Pointing  to  his 
riddled  garments,  he  proved  to  them  how  narrow 
had  been  his  escape  from  the  approaching  army  of 
the  rebels.  When  asked  the  number  of  the  troops 
that  Arnold  was  leading  against  them,  he  shook  his 
head  mysteriously,  and  pointed  upward  to  the  leaves 
of  the  trees.  The  reports  spread  rapidly  through 
the  camps,  and,  reaching  the  ears  of  the  commander, 
Hon-Yost  was  sent  for  to  the  tent  of  St.  Leger 
himself.  Here  he.  was  interrogated,  and  gave  infor 
mation  that  General  Arnold,  with  two  thousand 
men,  was  so  near  that  he  would  be  upon  them  within 
twenty-four  hours.  He  gave  St.  Leger  a  pitiable 
narrative  of  his  captivity,  trial,  and  condemnation 
to  the  gallows.  It  was  while  on  his  way  to  execu 
tion,  as  he  alleged,  that,  finding  himself  not  very 
closely  guarded,  he  took  an  opportunity  to  effect  hi& 
escape,  thinking,  at  the  worst,  that  he  could  only 
die,  and  it  would  be  as  well  to  be  shot  as  hanged. 
A  shower  of  bullets  had,  indeed,  been  let  fly  at  him, 
but  fortunately  had  only  wounded  his  clothes,  as  the 
general  might  see.  Meantime,  the  Oneida  messen 
ger  arrived  with  a  belt,  and  confirmed  to  the  Indians 
all  that  Schuyler  had  said  ;  adding,  that  the  Ameri 
cans  had  no-  desire  to  injure  the  Indians,  and  were 
intent  only  upon  attacking  the  British  troops  and 
rangers.  While  making  his  way  to  the  camp  of 
the  besiegers,  the  ingenious  Oneida  had  fallen  in 
with  some  two  or  three  straggling  Indians  of  his 
acquaintance,  to  whom  he  communicated  his  busi 
ness,  and  whose  assistance  in  furthering  the  design 
he  engaged.  These  sagacious  fellows  dropped  into 
the  Indian  camp  at  different  points,  and  threw  out 
alarming  suggestions,  shaking  their  heads  mysteri 
ously,  and  insinuating  that  a  bird  had  brought  them 
intelligence  of  great  moment.  They  spoke  of  war 


234     •  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

riors  in  great  numbers  advancing  rapidly  upon  them 
and  used  every  indirect  method  of  infusing  a  panic 
into  the  minds  of  the  listeners  who  gathered  around 
them.  The  Indians  presently  began  to  give  signs 
of  decamping,  and  St.  Leger  assayed  in  vain  to  re 
assure  them.  He  convened  a  council  of  their  chiefs, 
hoping  that,  by  the  influence  of  Sir  John  Johnson 
and  Colonels  Claus  and  Butler,  he  should  still  be 
able  to  retain  them.  Other  reports  of  a  yet  more 
terrifying  tendency  getting  afloat,  not  only  among 
th<>,  Indians,  but  in  the  other  camp,  the  former  de 
clared  that  "  the  pow-wow  said  they  must  go  ;"  and 
a  portion  cf  them  took  their  departure  before  the 
council  broke  up.  The  result  was  a  general  and 
precipitate  flight.  It  has  been  stated  that,  in  the 
commencement  of  the  retreat,  the  Indian?  made 
themselves  merry  at  the  expense  of  their  white 
allies,  by  raising  a  shout  that  the  Americans  were 
upon  them,  and  fhcn  laughing  at  the  groundless  ter 
ror  thus  created.  According  to  the  account  derived 
by  Gordon  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  an  alterca 
tion  took  place  between  Colonel  St.  Leger  and  Sir 
John  Johnson,  the  forrrer  reproaching  the  latter 
with  the  defection  of  the  Indians,  while  the  baronet 
charged  his  commander  with  but  an  indifferent  pros 
ecution  of  the  siege.  It  was  in  the  gray  of  twilight 
when  a  couple  of  sachems,  standing  upon  a  little 
eminence  not  far  in  the  rear,  and  overhearing  thr 
interchange  of  sharp  words  between  them,  put  aa 
end  to  the  unpleasant  colloquy  by  raising  the-  shout, 
"  They  are  coming  !  they  are  coming .'"  Both  St.  Lego-, 
and  Sir  John  commenced  their  retreat  with  all  pos 
sible  expedition  upon  hearing  such  an  alarm.  Thei 
troops  were  equally  nimble  of  foot  on  the  occasion 
throwing  away  their  knapsacks  and  arms,  and  dis 
encumbering  themselves  of  every  hinderance  to  the 
quick-step ;  while  the  Indians,  enjoying  the  panic 
and  confusion,  repeated  the  joke  by  the  way  until 
they  arrived  at  the  Oneida  Lake.  It  is  believed, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  235 

however,  that  it  was  not  the  Americans  alone  pi 
whom  St.  Leger  began  to  stand  in  fear,  being  quite 
as  apprehensive  of  danger  from  his  own  dusky  al 
lies  as  he  was  of  the  approaching  army  of  Arnold. 
There  is  British  authority  for  stating  that  the  In 
dians  actually  plundered  several  of  the  boats  belong 
ing  to  their  own  army,  robbing  the  officers  of  whatso 
ever  they  liked.  Within  a  few  miles  of  the  camp  they 
first  stripped  off  the  arms,  and  afterward  murdered, 
with  their  own  bayonets,  all  those  British,  German, 
and  American  soldiers  who  were  separated  from 
the  main  body.*  Thus  were  the  threats  of  savage 
vengeance  sent  by  Colonel  St.  Leger  to  the  garri 
son  in  some  degree  wreaked  upon  his  own  army. 
Hon-Yost  Schuyler  accompanied  the  flying  host  to 
the  estuary  of  Wood  Creek,  where  he  deserted, 
thridding  his  way  back  to  Fort  Schuyler  the  same 
evening,  imparting  to  Colonel  Gansevoort  his  first 
information  of  the  advance  of  Arnold.  From  Fort 
Schuyler  Hon-Yost  proceeded  back  to  the  German 
Flatts.  On  presenting  himself  at  Fort  Dayton,  his 
brother  was  discharged,  to  the  inexpressible  joy  of 
his  mother  and  their  relatives.  But  he  proved  a 
Tory  in  grain,  and  embraced  the  first  opportunity 
subsequently  presented,  which  was  in  October,  of 
running  away  to  the  enemy,  with  several  of  his 
neighbours,  and  attaching  himself  to  the  forces  of 
Sir  John  Johnson. 

Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  Colonel  Ganse- 
voort's  despatch  announcing  St.  Leger's  retreat, 
General  Arnold  push  forward  a  detachment  of  nine 
hundred  men,  with  directions,  if  possible,  to  over- 

*  St.  Leger's  report  of  this  disastrous  retreat,  addressed  to  General 
Burgoyne  from  Oswego,  on  the  27th  of  August,  corresponds  very 
closely  with  the  American  accounts  whence  the  present  narrative  has 
been  drawn.  He  states  that  the  Indians  fell  treacherously  upon  their 
friends,  and  became  more  formidable  than  the  enemy  they  had  to  ex 
pect,  lie  leaves  no  room,  however,  to  suppose  that  there  was  any  diffi 
culty  between  Sir  John  Johnson  and  himself,  calling  him  "  his  gallant 
coadjutor,"  &c.,  and  commending  his  exertions  to  induce  the  Indians 
again  to  meet  the  enemy,  as  also  those  of  Colonels  Claus  and  Butter 


236  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

take  the  fugitives,  and  render  their  flight  still  more 
disastrous.  On  the  day  following,  Arnold  himself 
arrived  at  the  fort,  where  he  was  received  with  a 
salute  of  artillery  and  the  cheers  of  the  brave  gar 
rison.  He,  of  course,  found  that  Gansevoort  had 
anticipated  his  design  of  harassing  the  rear  of  the 
flying  enemy,  and  had  brought  in  several  prisoners, 
together  with  large  quantities  of  spoil.  So  great 
was  their  panic,  and  such  the  precipitancy  of  their 
flight,  that  they  left  their  tents  standing,  their  pro 
visions,  artillery,  ammunition,  their  entire  camp 
equipage,  and  large  quantities  of  other  articles  en 
hancing  the  value  of  the  booty.* 

Thus  ended  the  siege  of  Fort  Schuyler,  or  Fort 
Stanwix,  as  the  public  have  always  preferred  calling 
it.  St.  Leger  hastened  with  his  scattered  forces  back 
to  Oswego,  and  thence  to  Montreal.  From  that  post 
he  proceeded  to  Lake  Champlain,  passing  up  the 
same  to  Ticonderoga,  for  the  purpose  of  joining 
the  army  of  Burgoyne.  Finding  that  the  enemy 
had  evacuated  the  country  between  the  fort  and 
Lake  Ontario,  and  that  the  post  could  be  in  no  im 
mediate  danger  from  that  direction,  Colonel  Ganse 
voort  took  the  opportunity  of  visiting  his  friends  at 
Albany,  and  at  the  seat  of  the  state  government, 
then  just  organized  at  Kingston. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  value  placed  upon  the  ser 
vices  of  the  colonel  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Schuy 
ler,  he  was  shortly  afterward  promoted  in  the  state 
line  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  while  his  gal 
lantry  was  farther  rewarded  by  a  colonel's  commis 
sion  from  Congress  in  the  "army  of  the  United 
States. f  On  leaving  his  regiment,  its  officers  pre- 

*  Among  other  articles  was  the  escritoire  of  St.  Leger  himself,  con 
taining  his  private  papers,  several  of  which  have  been  used  by  the 
author  in  writing-  this  and  the  preceding  chapters. 

t  There  seems  to  have  been  something  peculiar  and  special  in  this 
commission.  In  a  letter  which  Colonel  Gansevoort  wrote  jointly  to 
William  Duer  and  Gcmverneur  Morris,  a  copy  of  which  is  preserved 
among  his  papers,  he  observes  :  "  Congress  have  done  me  the  honour  of 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  237 

sented  him  with  an  affectionate  letter  of  congratu 
lation  on  his  promotion,  mingled  with  an  expression 
of  their  regret  at  the  loss  to  the  regiment  of  "  so 
worthy  a  patron."  To  which  the  colonel  returned 
an  appropriate  letter  of  thanks.  The  people  of 
Tryon  county  were,  of  course,  rejoiced  that  the  blow, 
directed,  as  the  enemy  supposed,  with  unerring  cer 
tainty  against  them,  had  been  averted.  They  had 
suffered  severely  in  the  campaign,  but  there  were 
enough  of  her  sons  yet  left  to  swell  the  ranks  of 
General  Gates  not  a  little  ;  and  they  pressed  ardently 
to  join  his  standard,  although  circumstances  did  not 
then  require  them  long  to  remain  in  the  field. 

In  October  following,  when  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
was  ascending  the  Hudson  for  the  purpose  either  01 
succouring  or  of  co-operating  with  Burgoyne,  Colo 
nel  Gansevoort  was  ordered  to  Albany  by  General 
Gates,  to  take  command  of  the  large  force  then  con 
centrating  at  that  place.  Happily,  as  will  appear  in 
the  succeeding  chapters,  there  was  no  occasion  to 
test  his  prowess  in  his  new  and  temporary  com 
mand. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  temporary  pacification  of  the  western  part 
of  the  state,  resulting  from  the  events  of  which  we 
have  just  closed  the  narrative,  affords  an  opportunity 
for  recurring  to  the  invasion  of  Burgoyne,  who  was 

appointing  me  colonel  commandant  of  Fort  Schuyler.  I  should  esteem  it 
as  a  favour  if  you  would  inform  me  whether  I  am  to  receive  any  pay  for 
that  commission  other  than  as  colonel  of  the  third  regiment  of  New- 
Yorkers  ;  and  if  not,  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  endeavour  to  get 
something  allowed  me,  as  my  present  pay  will  not  reimburse  my  table 
liquors,  which  you  may  well  conceive  to  be  something  considerable  as 
commanding  officer.  I  am  not  solicitous  to  make  money  by  my  com 
mission  ;  but  I  could  wish  not  to  sink  by  it,  as  I  am  obliged  to  do  now 
The  commission  which  Congress  has  sent  me  as  commandant  of  For 
Schuyler  subjects  me  as  much  to  the  command  of  my  superior  officers  as 
any  former  one.  If  that  was  the  intention  of  Congress,  the  appointment 
is  nugatory.  If  not,  I  wish  Congress  to  alter  the  commission." 


238  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

left  in  the  mid  career  of  victory,  checked,  it  is  true,  by 
unexpected  and  increasing  difficulties,  until  brought 
to  a  standby  the  serious  affair  of  Bennington,  hereto 
fore  incidentally  disposed  of.  On  shifting  the  scene, 
however,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Mohawk  to 
the  upper  districts  of  the  Hudson.  General  Gates  is 
again  found  in  command  of  the  Northern  department, 
General  Schuyler,  to  whose  wise  measures  and 
indefatigable  exertions  the  country  was  mainly  in 
debted  for  arresting  the  progress  of  Burgoyne,  and 
during  whose  command  the  victory  of  Bennington 
had  been  won  by  General  Stark,  having  been  most 
unjustly  superseded  by  express  resolution  of  Con 
gress.  There  had,  during  the  present  year,  been  a 
very  unwise,  unworthy,  and  capricious  interference, 
on  the  part  of  Congress,  with  the  command  of  this 
department.  On  the  25th  of  March,  without  a  reason 
assigned,  General  Gates  had  superseded  General 
Schuyler,  his  superior  officer,  by  order  of  Congress  , 
and  on  the  22d  of  May,  without  any  expressed  mo 
tive,  General  Schuyler  was  restored  to  the  command 
of  that  department.  Again,  on  the  1st  of  August,  it 
was  resolved  by  Congress  that  General  Schuyler 
should  repair  to  headquarters,  while  the  commander- 
in-chief  was,  by  the  same  resolution,  directed  to 
order  such  general  officer  as  he  should  think  proper  to 
assume  the  command  in  Schuyler's  place.  The  day 
after  the  passage  of  that  resolution,  General  Wash 
ington  received  a  letter  from  the  New-England  del 
egation  in  Congress,  suggesting  the  name  of  General 
Gates  as  the  officer  who  would  be  most  likely  to 
restore  harmony,  order,  and  discipline,  and  to  re 
lieve  our  affairs  in  that  quarter.*  We  have,  in  a 
former  chapter,  referred  to  the  prejudices  existing 
against  General  Schuyler,  and  the  causes  of  them. 
These  had  now  become  so  strong,  and  the  Eastern 

*  The  original  of  this  letter  to  Washington  is  in  the  handwriting  of 
Samuel  Adams,  and  is  signed  by  the  following  names,  in  the  order  in 
which  they  here  stand,  viz. :  John  Adams,  Nathaniel  Folsom,  Samuel 
Adams,  Henry  Merchant,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Eliphalet  Dyer,  William 

Williams. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  239 

States,  in  particular,  were  so  hostile  to  his  longer 
continuance  in  the  command,  that  even  his  friends 
acquiesced  in  the  expediency,  though  not  in  the 
justice,  of  his  removal.*  General  Schuyler  himself, 
however,  felt  acutely  the  discredit  of  being  recalled 
at  the  most  critical  and  interesting  period  of  the 
campaign ;  when  the  labour  and  activity  of  making 
preparations  to  repair  the  disasters  of  it  had  been 
expended  by  him,  and  when  an  opportunity  was 
offered,  as  he  observed,  for  that  resistance  and  re 
taliation  which  might  bring  glory  upon  our  arms. 

The  commander-in-chief  paid  no  heed  to  the  ad 
visory  epistle  from  the  New-England  delegates,  but 
in  a  respectful  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
declined  the  honour  of  making  the  selection.  Had 
he  not  thus  excused  himself,  it  is  not  presumption 
to  intimate,  that,  influenced  by  the  peculiar  attitude 
which  Gates  had  even  then  begun  to  assume,  and 
acting,  as  Washington  ever  did,  under  the  stern  be 
hests  of  conscience,  he  would  have  made  a  different 
selection  from  that  proposed  to  him  by  the  Eastern 
representatives,  and  which  ultimately  prevailed. 

General  Gates,  however,  did  not  join  the  Northern 
army  until  the  19th  of  August ;  and  as  the  time  was 
not  specified  within  which  he  was  required  to  re 
port  himself  at  headquarters,  General  Schuyler  was 
allowed  to  remain  at  the  North,  with  the  approba 
tion  both  of  Congress  and  the  commander-in-chief, 
until  after  the  campaign  had  been  closed  by  the  sur- 

*  The  calumnies  directed  against  St.  Clair  and  Schuyler,  in  regard  to 
the  fall  of  Ticonderoga,  were  so  gross  as  to  exceed  belief  in  their  propa 
gation.  These  officers  were  denounced  as  traitors  to  the  country,  acting 
in  concert  with  the  enemy  ;  and  the  ignorant  and  credulous  were  led  to 
believe  that  they  had  received  an  immense  treasure  in  silver  balls,  fired 
by  Burgoyne  into  St.  Glair's  camp,  and  by  his  order  picked  up,  and  trans 
mitted  to  Schuyler  at  Fort  George.  Wilkinson,  who  was  Gates's  adjutant- 
general,  avers  that  respectable  people  questioned  him  with  much  gravity 
as  to  the  fact  !  These  slanders  were,  for  factious  purposes,  counte 
nanced  by  respectable  men,  and  the  consequence  was  general  defection 
and  desertion,  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  ;  so  that,  at  one  time,  the 
Noithern  army  was  reduced  to  less  than  three  thousand,  and  the  militia 
to  less  than  thirteen  hundred,  and  these  subject  to  no  effectual  restraint. 


240  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

render  of  the  British  commander  and  his  army. 
Nor  were  his  exertions  the  less  active,  or  his  coun 
sels  the  less  freely  proffered,  in  the  cause  of  his 
country,  because  of  the  injustice  by  which  his  pride 
had  been  wounded. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Edward,*  as  men 
tioned  in  a  former  chapter,  General  Schuyler  fell 
down  the  river  to  Stillwater,  on  the  3d  of' August, 
and  began  to  intrench  his  camp  there  on  the  4th. 
Burgoyne's  ill-conceived  expedition  to  Bennington, 
under  Colonel  Baum,  deprived  him  of  one  sixth  of 
his  effective  force  on  the  16th.  It  was  not  until 
near  a  month  afterward,  during  which  time  the 
American  army  had  been  greatly  strengthened  at 
Stillwater,  that  Burgoyne  was  again  prepared  to 
advance.  Having  at  length,  by  dint  of  almost  in 
credible  labour,  brought  up  from  Fort  George  a  sup 
ply  of  provisions  for  thirty  days,  and  thrown  a 
bridge  of  boats  over  the  Hudson,  the  British  com 
mander,  with  his  army,  crossed  on  the  13th  and 
14th  of  September,  and  encamped  on  the  heights 
and  plains  of  Saratoga.  On  the  night  of  the  17th, 
Burgoyne  encamped  within  four  miles  of  the  Amer 
ican  army,  and  about  noon  on  the  19th  advanced 
in  full  force  against  it,  the  latter  having,  in  the 
mean  time,  advanced  towards  the  enemy  three  miles 
above  Stillwater.  Burgoyne  commanded  his  right 
wing  in  person,  covered  by  General  Frazer  and  Col 
onel  Breyman,  with  the  grenadiers  and  light  infantry, 
who  were  posted  along  some  high  grounds  on  the 
right.  The  front  and  flanks  were  covered  by  In 
dians,  Provincials,  and  Canadians.  The  enemy's 
left  wing  and  artillery  were  commanded  by  Gen 
erals  Phillips  and  Riedesel,  who  proceeded  along  the 

*  It  was  during-  a  skirmish  before  Fort  Edward,  when  the  Americans 
were  flying-  from  a  party  of  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  that  the  late  Gen 
eral  Matthew  Clarkson,  of  New- York — then  Major  Clarkson,  and  aid  to 
General  Arnold — was  wounded  by  a  ball  which  passed  through  the  mus 
cular  integuments  of  the  throat.  The  wound  was  supposed  to  be  fatal 
at  the  time,  but  he  soon  recovered. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  241 

great  road.  Colonel  Morgan,  who  was  detached  to 
observe  their  motions,  and  to  harass  them  as  they 
advanced,  soon  fell  in  with  their  pickets  in  advance 
of  their  right  wing,  attacked  them  sharply,  and 
drove  them  in.  A  strong  corps  was  immediately 
detached  by  the  enemy  against  Morgan,  who,  after 
a  brisk  engagement,  was  in  turn  compelled  to  give 
way.  A  regiment  being  ordered  to  the  assistance 
of  Morgan,  whose  riflemen  had  been  sadly  scatter 
ed  by  the  vigour  of  the  attack,  the  battle  was  re 
newed  at  about  one  o'clock,  and  was  maintained 
with  spirit,  though  with  occasional  pauses,  for  three 
hours,  the  commanders  on  both  sides  supporting 
and  re-enforcing  their  respective  parties.  By  four 
o'clock  the  battle  became  general,  Arnold,  with  nine 
Continental  regiments  and  Morgan's  corps,  having 
completely  engaged  the  whole  right  wing  of  the 
enemy.*  The  contest,  accidentally  commenced  in 
the  first  instance,  now  assumed  the  most  obstinate 
and  determined  character.  It  was  maintained  four 
hours  longer,  the  soldiers  being  often  engaged  hand 
to  hand.  The  approach  of  night  terminated  the  bat 
tle,  the  Americans  retreating  to  their  encampment, 
but  not  from  other  necessity  than  the  darkness. 
The  enemy  were  provided  with  artillery,  but  the 
ground  occupied  by  the  Americans  would  not  allow 
the  use  of  fieldpieces.  The  fluctuations  of  the  bat 
tle  were  frequent  during  the  day,  and  although  the 
British  artillery  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans 

*  Holmes,  who  follows  Stcdman.  General  Wilkinson  denies  that 
Arnold  shared  much  in  this  battle.  He  says,  "  Not  a  single  general 
officer  was  on  the  field  of  battle  on  the  19th,  until  evening,  when  Gen 
eral  Lamed  was  ordered  out.  About  the  same  time  Generals  Gates  and 
Arnold  were  in  front  of  the  centre  of  the  camp,  listening  to  the  peal  of 
small  arms,  when  Colonel  Morgan  Lewis,  deputy  quartermaster-general, 
returned  from  the  field,  and  being  questioned  by  the  general,  he  reported 
the  undecisive  progress  of  the  action  ;  at  which  Arnold  exclaimed,  '  By 
G—d,  I  will  put  an  end  to  it,'  and  clapping  spurs  to  his  horse,  galloped  off 
at  full  speed.  Colonel  Lewis  immediately  observed  to  General  Gates, 
'  You  had  better  order  him  back:  the  action  is  going  well,  and  he  maj 
by  some  rash  act  do  mischief.'  I  was  instantly  despatched,  overtook, 
md  remanded  Arnold  to  camp." — Memoirs,  vol.  i,  chap.  vi. 

VOL.  I.— T 


242  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

at  every  alternate  charge,  the  latter  could  neithef 
turn  them  upon  the  enemy  nor  bring  them  off.  The 
wood  prevented  the  last,  and  the  want  of  a  match 
the  first,  as  the  lint-stock  was  invariably  carried 
away,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  transitions  did  not  al 
low  the  Americans  time  to  provide  one. 

Both  armies  remained  in  the  same  positions  until 
the  beginning  of  October,  each  intrenching  itself 
within  lines  and  redoubts,  which,  in  the  most  eligi 
ble  positions,  were  strengthened  with  batteries. 
The  engineer  having  the  direction  of  the  American 
works  at  Behmus's  Heights  was  the  celebrated 
Polish  patriot,  Thaddeus  Kosciusko,  who  had  also 
served  in  the  same  capacity  at  Ticonderoga. 

The  action  of  the  19th  of  September  had  again 
essentially  diminished  the  strength  of  Burgoyne ; 
added  to  which  were  the  great  and  increasing  diffi 
culties  of  obtaining  supplies,  and  the  perpetual  an 
noyances  to  which  he  was  subjected  by  the  Amer 
ican  scouts,  and  still  larger  detachments,  who  were 
attacking  his  pickets,  hanging  upon  his  flanks,  and 
cutting  off  his  foraging  parties.  By  the  4th  of  Oc 
tober  his  supplies  were  so  far  reduced  that  the  sol 
diers  were  placed  upon  short  allowance ;  and  his 
position  was  in  other  respects  becoming  so  critical, 
that,  hearing  nothing  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  for 
whose  co-operation  from  New- York  he  had  been 
waiting  since  the  battle  of  the  19th,  the  idea  of  ad 
vancing  was  relinquished,  and  instead  thereof,  dis 
cussions  were  held  respecting  the  practicability  of  a 
retreat.  This  could  only  be  done  by  first  dislodging 
the  Americans,  whose  forces,  disciplined  and  undis 
ciplined,  now  far  outnumbered  his  own,  from  their 
posts  on  the  heights.  On  the  4th  of  October,  Bur- 

foyne  sent  for  Generals  Phillips,  Riedesel,  and 
razer,  to  consult  with  them  on  the  best  measures 
to  be  taken.  His  project  was  to  attack  and  attempt 
to  turn  the  left  wing  of  the  Americans  at  once  ;  but 
the  other  generals  judged  that  it  would  be  danger 
ous  to  leave  their  stores  under  so  feeble  a  protec- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  243 

tion  as  eight  hundred  men,  according  to  the  propo 
sition  of  their  commander.  A  second  consultation 
was  held  on  the  5th,  at  which  General  Riedesel 
positively  declared  that  the  situation  of  the  army 
had  become  so  critical,  that  they  must  either  attack 
and  force  the  intrenchments  of  Gates,  and  thus 
bring  about  a  favourable  change  of  affairs,  or  re- 
cross  the  Hudson,  and  retreat  upon  Fort  George. 
Frazer  approved  of  the  latter  suggestion,  and  Phil 
lips  declined  giving  an  opinion.  General  Burgoyne, 
to  whom  the  idea  of  retreating  was  most  unwel 
come,  declared  that  he  would  make,  on  the  7th,  a  re- 
connoissance  as  near  as  possible  to  the  left  wing  of 
the  Americans,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  whether 
it  could  be  attacked  with  any  prospect  of  success. 
He  would  afterward  either  attack  the  army  of  Gates, 
or  retreat  by  the  route  in  the  rear  of  Battenkill. 
This  was  his  final  determination,  and  dispositions 
were  made  accordingly. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  7th,  General  Bur 
goyne  drew  out  fifteen  hundred  men  for  the  purpose 
of  making  his  proposed  reconnoissance,  which  he 
headed  himself,  attended  by  Generals  Phillips,  Rie 
desel,  and  Frazer.  They  advanced  in  three  col 
umns  towards  the  left  wing  of  the  American  posi- 
-tions,  entered  a  wheat-field,  deployed  imo  line,  and 
then  began  cutting  up  the  wheat  for  forage.  The 
movement  having  been  seasonably  discovered,  the 
centre  advanced  guard  of  the  Americans  beat  to 
arms ;  the  alarm  was  repeated  throughout  the  line, 
and  the  troops  repaired  to  the  alarm  posts.  Colonel 
Wilkinson  being  at  headquarters  at  the  moment, 
was  despatched  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  alarm. 
He  proceeded  to  within  sixty  or  seventy  rods  of  the 
enemy,  ascertained  their  position,  and  returned,  in 
forming  General  Gates  that  they  were  foraging ;  at 
tempting  also  to  reconnoitre  the  Ameiican  left,  and 
likewise,  in  his  opinion,  offering  battle.  After  a 
brief  consultation,  Gates  said  he  would  indulge  them ; 


244  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

and  Colonel  Morgan,  whose  rifle  corps  was  formed 
in  front  of  the  centre,  was  directed  "  to  begin  the 
game."*  At  his  own  suggestion,  however,  Morgan 
was  allowed  to  gain  the  enemy's  right  by  a  circui 
tous  course,  while  Poor's  brigade  should  attack  his 
left .  The  movement  was  admirably  executed  :  the 
New- York  and  New-Hampshire  troops  attacked  the 
enemy's  front  and  left  wing  with  great  impetuosity  ; 
while,  true  to  his  purpose,  Morgan,  just  at  the  criti 
cal  moment,  poured  down  like  a  torrent  from  the 
hill,  and  attacked  the  enemy's  right  in  front  and 
flank.  The  attack  was  soon  extended  along  the 
whole  front  of  the  enemy  with  great  determination. 
Major  Ackland,  at  the  head  of  the  grenadiers,  sus 
tained  the  attack  of  Poor  with  great  firmness.  But 
on  his  right  the  light  infantry,  in  attempting  to 
change  front,  being  pressed  with  ardour  by  Colonel 
Dearborn,  were  forced  to  retire  under  a  close  fire, 
and  in  great  disorder.  They  were  re-formed  by  the 
Earl  of  Balcarras  behind  a  fence  in  the  rear  of  their 
first  position ;  but,  being  again  attacked  with  great 
audacity  in  front  and  flanks  by  superior  numbers, 
resistance  became  vain,  and  the  whole  line,  com 
manded  by  Burgoyne  in  person,  gave  way,  and  made 
a  precipitate  and  disorderly  retreat  to  his  camp. 
The  right  of  Burgoyne  had  given  way  first,  the  re- ' 
treat  of  which  was  covered  by  the  light  infantry  and 
a  part  of  the  24th  regiment.  The  left  wing,  in  its 
retreat,  would  inevitably  have  been  cut  to  pieces  but 
for  the  intervention  of  the  same  troops,  performing 
in  its  behalf  the  same  service  that,  a  few  moments 
before,  they  had  done  for  the  right.  This  retreat 
took  place  in  exactly  fifty-two  minutes  after  the  first 
shot  was  fired :  the  enemy  leaving  two  twelve  and 
six  six-pounders  on  the  field,  with  the  loss  of  more 

*  General  Burgoyne  afterward  stated  to  Wilkinson,  in  conversation, 
that  his  purpose  on  that  day  was  only  to  reconnoitre  and  obtain  forage, 
and  that  in  half  an  hour,  had  his  motives  not  been  penetrated  by  Wilkin 
son  and  he  not  been  attacked,  he  should  have  finished  his  observations 
and  returned  to  his  camp. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  245 

than  four  hundred  officers  and  men,  killed,  wounded, 
and  captured,  and  among  them  the  flower  of  his  of 
ficers,  viz.,  General  Frazer,  Major  Ackland,*  Sir 
Francis  Cook,  and  many  others. 

The  British  troops  had  scarcely  entered  their 
lines,  when  the  Americans,  led  by  General  Arnold, 
pressed  forward,  and,  under  a  tremendous  fire  oi 
grapeshot  and  musketry,  assaulted  their  works 
throughout  their  whole  extent  from  right  to  left. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  day,  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments  were  forced  by  the  left  of  the  Americans,  led 
by  Arnold  in  person,  who,  with  a  few  of  his  men, 
actually  entered  the  works;  but,  his  horse  being 
killed,  and  the  general  himself  badly  wounded  in  the 
leg,  they  were  forced  to  retire,  and  the  approach  of 

*  General  Wilkinson  gives  an  interesting  incident  respecting  Majoi 
Ackland.  While  pursuing  the  flying  enemy,  passing  over  killed  and 
wounded,  he  heard  a  voice  exclaim,  "  Protect  me,  sir,  against  this  boy  . 
Turning  his  head,  he  saw  a  lad,  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  de 
liberately  aiming  at  a  wounded  officer,  lying  in  the  angle  of  a  worm- 
fence.  The  purpose  of  the  boy  was  arrested  :  the  officer  proved  to  be 
the  brave  Ackland,  who  had  commanded  the  grenadiers,  and  was  wound 
ed  in  both  legs.  He  was  immediately  sent  to  headquarters.  The  story 
of  Major  Ackiand  has  been  rendered  familiar  to  all,  even  before  escaping 
the  nursery,  by  the  interesting  narrative  of  Lady  Harriet,  his  wife,  who 
was  with  the  army,  and  who,  two  days  after  the  battle,  came  to  the 
American  camp,  under  a  flag,  to  join  her  husband.  The  incident,  from 
the  embellishments  it.  received,  was  touching  and  romantic.  When  di 
vested  of  its  poetry,  however,  and  reduced  to  the  plain  matter  of  fact, 
according  to  the  statement  of  the  late  General  Dearborn,  which  he  au 
thorized  Wilkinson  to  publish  in  his  memoirs,  the  affair  was  not  so  very 
extraordinary  that  it  might  not  have  been  enacted  by  any  other  pretty 
woman,  under  the  same  circumstances,  who  loved  her  husband.  Major 
Ackland  had  already  been  sent  down  to  Albany,  when  Lady  Harriet  ar 
rived  at  the  camp  of  General  Gates.  She  was  treated  with  all  possible 
courtesy,  and  permitted  to  follow  and  join  him.  Major  Ackland  was  a 
gallant  officer  and  a  generous  foe.  While  in  New- York,  on  his  parole, 
he  did  all  in  his  power  to  favour  the  treatment  of  distinguished  Amer 
ican  prisoners.  After  his  return  to  England,  he  sacrificed  his  life  in  de 
fence  of  American  honour.  Having  procured  a  regiment,  at  a  dinner  of 
military  men,  the  courage  of  the  Americans  was  questioned.  He  repell 
ed  the  imputation  with  decision.  High  words  ensued,  in  the  course  of 
which  Ackland  gave  the  lie  direct  to  a  subordinate  officer  named  Lloyd. 
A  meeting  was  the  consequence,  in  which  he  was  shot  through  the  head. 
Lady  Harriet  lost  her  senses,  and  continued  deranged  two  years  ;  aftei 
which  she  married  a  gentle  man  named  Urudenell,  \vho  had  accompanied 
her  from  the  camp  of  Burgoyne.  at  Saratoga,  to  that  of  Gates,  i  i  search 
of  hei  woanded  husband. 


246  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

darkness  induced  them  to  desist  from  the  attack. 
Meantime,  on  the  left  of  Arnold's  detachment,  the 
Massachusetts  troops,  under  Colonel  Brooks,  had 
been  still  more  successful,  having  turned  the  ene 
my's  right,  and  carried  by  storm  the  works  occupied 
by  the  German  reserve.  Colonel  JBreyman,  their 
commander,  was  killed,  and  his  corps,  reduced  to 
two  hundred  men,  and  hotly  pressed  on  all  sides, 
was  obliged  to  give  way.  This  advantage  was  re 
tained  by  the  Americans,  and  darkness  put  an  end 
to  an  action  equally  brilliant  and  important  to  the 
Continental  arms.  Great  numbers  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  and  two  hundred  prisoners  taken.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  was  inconsiderable. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  before  daybreak,  the 
enemy  left  his  position,  and  defiled  into  the  plain, 
where  his  provisions  were  ;  but  was  obliged  to  hall 
until  the  evening,  because  his  hospital  could  not  be 
sooner  removed.*  The  Americans  immediately 
moved  forward,  and  took  possession  of  the  aban 
doned  camp.  Burgoyne  having  condensed  his  force 
upon  some  heights  which  were  strong  by  nature, 
and  covered  in  front  by  a  ravine  running  parallel 
with  the  intrenchment  of  his  late  camp,  a  random 
fire  of  artillery  and  small  arms  was  kept  up  through 
the  day;  particularly  on  the  part  of  the  enemy's 
sharp-shooters  and  Provincials,  who  were  stationed 
in  coverts  of  the  ravine,  which  rendered  their  fire 
annoying  to  every  person  crossing  their  line  of  vis 
ion.  It  was  by  a  shot  from  one  of  these  lurking  par 
ties  that  General  Lincoln,  late  in  the  day,  received  a 
severe  wound  in  the  leg,  while  riding  near  the  line. 

*  Memoirs  of  the  Baroness  de  Riedesel.  Of  this  lady  General  Wilkin 
son  says,  "  I  have  more  than  once  seen  her  charming-  blue  eyes  bedewed 
with  tears  at  the  recital  of  her  sufferings.  With  two  infant  children, 
she  accompanied  her  husband,  Major-general  the  Baron  de  Riedesel, 
from  Germany  to  England,  from  England  to  Canada,  and  from  the  last 
place  to  the  termination  of  General  Burgoyne's  campaign,  in  which  she 
suffered  more  than  the  horrors  of  the  grave  in  their  most  frightful  as 
pect."  Her  Memoirs  were  published  in  Berlin,  in  1800.  They  are  full 
of  interest. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  247 

The  gallant  Frazer,  who  had  been  mortally 
wounded  the  day  before,  died  at  8  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th.  On  the  evening  of  his  fall, 
when  it  was  rendered  certain  that  he  could  not  re 
cover,  he  sent  for  General  Burgoyne,  and  requested 
that  he  might  be  buried  at  6  o'clock  the  following 
evening,  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  upon  which  a  breast 
work  had  been  constructed.  It  was  a  subject  of 
complaint  against  Burgoyne,  that,  in  order  to  com 
ply  with  this  request,  he  delayed  his  retreat,  and 
thus  contributed  to  the  misfortunes  of  his  army. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  the  dying  soldier's  request  was 
observed  to  the  letter.  At  the  hour  appointed,  the 
body  was  borne  to  the  hill  that  had  been  indicated, 
attended  by  the  generals  and  their  retinues  ;  the  fu 
neral  service  was  read  by  the  chaplain,  and  the 
corpse  interred,  while  the  balls  of  the  American 
cannon  were  flying  around  and  above  the  assembled 
mourners.* 

It  was  evident,  from  the  movements  in  the  ene 
my's  camp,  that  he  was  preparing  to  retreat ;  but 
the  American  troops  having,  in  the  delirium  of  joy 
consequent  upon  ther  victory,  neglected  to  draw  and 
eat  their  rations,  being,  withal,  not  a  little  fatigued 
with  the  two  days'  exertions,  fell  back  to  their  camp, 
which  had  been  left  standing  in  the  morning.  Re 
treat  was,  indeed,  the  only  alternative  remaining  to 
the  British  commander,  since  it  was  now  quite  cer- 

*  The  Baroness  Riedesel,  from  whose  spirited  Memoirs  the  circum- 
itances  of  this  funeral  are  drawn,  states  that  General  Gates  protested 
ifterward  that,  had  he  known  what  was  going  ou,  he  would  have  stopped 
the  fire  immediately.  It  must  have  been  a  solemn  spectacle,  and  Gener- 
il  Burgoyne  himself  described  it  with  his  usual  eloquence  and  felicity 
of  expression :  "  The  incessant  cannonade  during  the  solemnity ;  the 
steady  attitude  and  unaltered  voice  with  which  the  chaplain  officiated, 
though  frequently  covered  with  dust,  which  the  shot  threw  up  on  ali 
tides  of  him ;  the  mute,  but  expressive  mixture  of  sensibility  and  indig 
nation  upon  every  countenance— these  objects  will  remain  to  the  last  of 
life  upon  the  mind  of  every  man  who  was  present.  The  growing  duski 
ness  added  to  the  scenery,  and  the  whole  marked  a  character  of  that  junc 
ture  that  would  make  one  of  the  finest  subjects  for  the  pencil  of  a  mas 
ter  that  the  field  ever  exhibited.'' — State  of  the  Expedition  from  Canada, 
«*<•.,  <frr.t  p.  169. 


24.8  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

tain  that  he  could  not  cut  his  way  through  the  Amer 
ican  army,  and  his  supplies  were  reduced  to  a  short 
allowance  for  five  days.  He  accordingly  commen 
ced  his  retreat  that  night,  but  lingered  by  the  way ; 
so  that  on  the  10th  he  was  yet  near  Saratoga,  where 
he  took  up  a  position.  During  this  retreat  he  or 
dered  the  farmhouses  to  be  burned  by  the  way, 
among  which  was  the  elegant  mansion  of  General 
Schuyler,  with  its  mills  and  out-buildings.  This 
conduct  on  the  part  of  the  British  commander  was 
viewed  as  alike  disreputable  and  unnecessary.* 

Well  knowing  that  a  farther  retreat,  with  a  view, 
if  possible,  of  reaching  his  depot  at  Fort  George,  and 
escaping  through  the  lakes,  was  now  the  only  move 
ment  to  which  Burgoyne  could  have  recourse  to 
save  the  shattered  remains  of  his  army,  Gates  lost 
no  time  in  throwing  several  strong  detachments  of 
troops  into  his  rear.  A  division  of  fourteen  hun 
dred  was  stationed  on  the  heights  opposite  the  ford 
at  Saratoga ;  two  thousand  in  his  rear,  to  prevent  his 
retreat  upon  Fort  Edward ;  and  fifteen  hundred  at 
a  ford  yet  higher  up.  Apprehensive  that  he  should 
be  entirely  penned  up,  Burgoyne  sent  forward  a 
corps  of  artificers  to  repair  the  bridges  ;  but  these, 
though  strongly  guarded,  were  driven  precipitately 
back.  His  thoughts  were  next  directed  to  the  open 
ing  of  a  passage  by  the  way  of  Fort  Edward ;  but 
the  Americans  had  already  repossessed  themselves 
of  that  work,  and  were  well  provided  with  artillery. 
Thus  environed  with  difficulties,  which  were  in 
creasing  every  hour,  his  effective  force  reduced  to 
less  than  three  thousand  five  hundred  men — the 
American  army  increasing  every  moment,  and  now 
forming  an  almost  entire  circle  around  him— har- 

*  "  The  cruelties  which  mark  the  retreat  of  your  array,  in  burning-  the 
gentlemen's  and  farmers'  houses  as  it  pass? d  along,  are  almost,  among 
civilized  nations,  without  precedent ;  they  snould  not  endeavour  to  ruin 
those  they  could  not  conquer  ;  their  conduct  betrays  more  of  the  vindic 
tive  malice  of  the  monk  than  the  generosity  of  a  soldier." — Letter  of 
Gates  to  Burgoyne,  Oct.  12,  1777. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  249 

assed  at  all  points,  especially  by  the  sharp-shoot 
ers  who  hovered  about  him — Burgoyne  was  driven 
to  the  necessity  of  entering  into  a  convention  with 
General  Gates,  which  was  done  by  the  unanimous 
consent  of  a  general  council  of  his  officers.  The 
preliminaries  were  soon  adjusted,  and  on  the  17th 
of  October  the  royal  army  surrendered  prisoners 
of  war.  At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  the  army 
of  Burgoyne  numbered  nine  thousand  two  hundred 
and  thirteen  men.  The  number  that  laid  down  their 
arms  was  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-two. 
His  Indian  allies  had  all,  or  nearly  all,  abandoned 
him  several  days  before. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  articles  of  capitulation 
were  carried  into  effect,  Burgoyne,  with  his  general 
officers,  was  received  in  the  quarters  of  General 
Gates,  and  entertained  by  him  at  dinner.  They 
were  received  with  the  utmost  courtesy,  and  with 
the  consideration  due  to  brave  but  unfortunate  men. 
The  conversation  was  unrestrained,  affable,  and 
free.*  Indeed,  the  conduct  of  Gates  throughout, 
after  the  terms  of  the  surrender  had  been  adjusted, 
was  marked  with  equal  delicacy  and  magnanimity, 
as  Burgoyne  himself  admitted  in  a  letter  to  the  Earl 
of  Derby.  In  that  letter  the  captive  general  partic 
ularly  mentioned  one  circumstance,  which  he  said 
exceeded  all  he  had  ever  seen  or  read  of  on  a  like 
occasion.  It  was  the  fact  that,  when  the  British 
soldiers  had  marched  out  of  their  camp  to  the  place 
where  they  were  to  pile  their  arms,  not  a  man  of  the 
American  troops  was  to  be  seen,  General  Gates  hav 
ing  ordered  his  whole  army  out  of  sight,  that  not 

*  The  first  meeting'  of  Burgoyne  with  Gates  is  thus  described  by  Wil 
kinson  :  "  General  Gates,  advised  of  Burgoyne's  approach,  met  him  at 
the  head  of  his  camp,  Burgoyne  in  a  rich  royal  uniforn,  and  Gates  in  a 
plain  blue  frock  ;  when  they  had  approached  nearly  within  sword's 
length,  they  reined  up  and  halted.  I  then  named  the  gentlemen,  and 
General  Burgoyne,  raising  his  hat  most  gracefully,  said,  '  The  fortune  of 
war,  General  Gates,  has  made  me  your  prisoner  ;'  to  which  the  conquer 
or,  returning  a  courtly  salute,  promptly  replied,  'I  shall  always  be 
ready  to  bear  testimony  that  it  has  not  been  through  any  fault  ot  your 
excellency.' " 

VOL.  1.— U 


250  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

one  of  them  should  be  a  spectator  of  the  humiliation 
of  the  British  troops,  nor  offer  the  smallest  insult  to 
the  vanquished.  This  was  a  refinement  of  delica 
cy,  and  of  military  generosity  and  politeness,  re 
flecting  the  highest  credit  upon  the  conqueror ;  anrJ 
was  spoken  of  by  the  officers  of  Burgoyne  in  the 
strongest  terms  of  approbation. 

Flushed  with  his  fortuitous  success,  or,  rather, 
with  the  success  attending  his  fortuitous  position? 
Gates  did  not  wear  his  honours  with  any  remarka 
ble  meekness.  On  the  contrary,  his  bearing,  even 
towards  the  commander-in-chief,  was  far  from  re 
spectful.  He  did  not  even  write  to  Washington  on 
the  occasion  until  after  a  considerable  time  had 
elapsed.  In  the  first  instance,  Wilkinson  was  sent 
as  the  bearer  of  despatches  to  Congress,  but  did  not 
reach  the  seat  of  that  body  until  fifteen  days  after 
the  articles  of  capitulation  had  been  signed ;  and 
three  days  more  were  occupied  in  arranging  his  pa 
pers  before  they  were  presented.*  The  first  men 
tion  which  Washington  makes  of  the  defeat  of  Bur 
goyne  is  contained  in  a  letter  written  to  his  brother 
on  the  18th  of  October,  the  news  having  been  com- 
municated  to  him  by  Governor  Clinton.  He  spoke 
of  the  event  again  on  the  19th.  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  General  Putnam.  On  the  25th,  in  a  letter  ad 
dressed  to  that  officer,  he  acknowledges  the  receipt 
of  a  copy  of  the  articles  of  capitulation  from  him ;  ad 
ding,  that  that  was  the  first  authentic  intelligence  he 
had  received  of  the  affair,  and  that  he  had  begun  to 
grow  uneasy,  and  almost  to  suspect  that  the  previ 
ous  accounts  were  premature.  And  it  was  not  un 
til  the  2d  of  November  that  Gates  deigned  to  com 
municate  to  the  commander-in-chief  a  word  upon 
the  subject,  and  then  only  incidentally,  as  though  it 
were  a  matter  of  secondary  importance.! 

*  '•  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  one  of  the  members  made  a  motion  in 
Congress  that  they  should  compliment  Colonel  Wilkinson  with  the  gift 
of  a  pair  of  spurs." 

+  All  that  Gates  said  upon  th^  cubist  m  the  Liter  referred  to  was 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  251 

General  Schuyler  was  in  the  camp  with  Gates  at 
the  time  of  the  surrender,  though  without  any  per 
sonal  command ;  and  when  Burgoyne,  with  his 
general  officers,  arrived  in  Albany,  they  were  the 
guests  of  Schuyler,  by  whom  they  were  treated 
with  great  hospitality.  The  Baroness  de  Riedesel 
speaks  with  great  feeling  of  the  kindness  she  re 
ceived  from  General  Schuyler  on  her  first  arrival  in 
the  camp  of  General  Gates,  and  afterward  at  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Schuyler  and  her  daughters  in  Alba 
ny.  The  urbanity  of  his  manners,  and  the  chivalric 
magnanimity  of  his  character,  smarting  as  he  was 
under  the  extent  and  severity  of  his  pecuniary  loss 
es,  are  attested  by  General  Burgoyne  himself,  in 
his  speech,  in  1778,  in  the  British  House  of  Com 
mons.  He  there  declared  that,  by  his  orders,  "  a 
very  good  dwelling-house,  exceeding  large  store 
houses,  great  sawmills,  and  other  out-buildings,  to 
the  value,  altogether,  perhaps  of  .£10,000  sterling," 
belonging  to  General  Schuyler,  at  Saratoga,  were 
destroyed  by  fire  a  few  days  before  the  surrender. 
He  said,  farther,  that  one  of  the  first  persons  he  saw, 
after  the  convention  was  signed,  was  General 
Schuyler  ;  and  when  expressing  to  him  his  regret 
at  the  event  which  had  happened  to  his  property, 
General  Schuyler  desired  him  "  to  think  no  more  of 
it,  and  that  the  occasion  justified  it,  according  to  the 

comprised  in  these  words:  "  Congress  having  been  requested  immedi 
ately  to  transmit  copies  of  all  my  despatches  to  them,  I  am  confident 
your  excellency  has  long  ago  received  all  the  good  news  from  thid 
quarter."  Two  days  before  this,  in  a  letter  directed  to  Gates,  Wash 
ington  had  administered  one  of  those  mild  and  dignified  rebukes  so  very 
like  himself.  In  this  letter,  written  in  reference  to  a  special  mission  of 
Colonel  Hamilton  to  the  North,  the  commander-in-chief  said,  "  By  this 
opportunity  I  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  congratulate  you  on  the  signal 
success  of  the  army  under  your  command,  in  compelling  General  Bur 
goyne  and  his  whole  force  to  surrender  themselves  prisoners  of  war." 
*  "  At  the  same  time,  I  cannot  but  regret  that  a 
matter  of  such  magnitude,  and  so  interesting  to  our  general  operations, 
should  have  reached  me  by  report  only,  or  through  the  channel  of  letters 
not  bearing  that  authenticity  which  the  importance  of  it  required,  and 
which  it  would  have  received  by  a  line  under  your  signature,  stating  tha 
simple  facts." 


352  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

principles  and  rules  of  war.  He  did  more,"  said 
Burgoyne ;  "  he  sent  an  aid-de-camp*  to  conduct 
me  to  Albany,  in  order,  as  he  expressed  it,  to  pro 
cure  better  quarters  than  a  stranger  might  be  able 
to  find.  That  gentleman  conducted  me  to  a  very 
elegant  house,  and,  to  my  great  surprise,  presented 
me  to  Mrs.  Schuyler  and  her  family.  In  that  house 
I  remained  during  my  whole  stay  in  Albany,  with  a 
table  of  more  than  twenty  covers  for  me  and  my 
friends,  and  every  other  possible  demonstration  of 
hospitality." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SIMULTANEOUSLY  with  the  events  rapidly  sketched 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  an  expedition  from  New- 
York  to  the  North  was  undertaken  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  to  which  an  incidental  reference  has  al 
ready  been  made.  The  obvious  intention  of  Sir  Hen 
ry  was  to  relieve  General  Burgoyne  :  a  fact  admitted 
by  Sir  Henry  himself,  who  excused  the  delay  by 
stating  that  he  could  not  attempt  it  sooner  without 
leaving  the  defences  of  New- York  too  feebly  guard 
ed.  This  expedition  consisted  of  about  three  thou 
sand  men,  convoyed  by  a  fleet  under  Commodore 
Hotham,  who  proceeded  up  the  Hudson  River  early 
in  October,  and  was  destined,  in  the  first  instance, 
against  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  near  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Highlands.  These  for 
tresses  had  been  constructed  chiefly  for  the  pur 
pose  of  preventing  the  ships  of  the  enemy  from  as 
cending  the  river,  and  were  not  defensive  in  the 
rear.  They  were  commanded  by  Governor  Clinton, 
with  the  assistance  of  General  James  Clinton,  his 
brother. 

*  The  late  Colonel  Richard  Varick,  then  the  military 
General  Schuyler. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

The  troops- of  the  enemy  were  landed  at  Stoney 
Point,  twelve  miles  below  the  forts.  A  small  ad 
vanced  party  of  the  Americans  was  met  and  attack 
ed  at  about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
October,  when  within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  the 
fort.  This  party  was,  of  course,  driven  in,  having 
returned  the  enemy's  fire.  When  arrived  within  a 
mile  of  the  forts,  Sir  Henry  divided  his  troops  into 
two  columns ;  the  one,  consisting-  of  nine  hundred 
men  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell,  was  destin 
ed  for  the  attack  on  Fort  Montgomery  ;  the  other, 
under  the  immediate  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clin 
ton,  was  to  storm  the  stronger  post  of  Fort  Clinton. 
Ascertaining  that  the  enemy  were  advancing  to  the 
west  side  of  the  mountain,  to  attack  his  rear,  Gov 
ernor  Clinton  ordered  a  detachment  of  upward  of 
one  hundred  men  under  Colonel  Lamb,  together 
with  a  brass  fieldpiece  and  fifty  men  more,  to  take 
a  strong  position  in  advance.  They  were  soon 
sharply  engaged,  and  another  detachment  of  an 
equal  number  was  sent  to  their  assistance.  They 
kept  their  fieldpiece  sharply  playing  upon  the  ene 
my's  advancing  column,  and  were  only  compelled 
to  give  way  by  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  spiking 
their  fieldpiece  before  they  relinquished  it.  In  this 
preliminary  encounter  the  loss  of  Sir  Henry  was 
severe. 

Pressing  rapidly  onward,  both  forts  were  in  a 
few  minutes  attacked  with  vigour  upon  all  sides. 
The  fire  was  incessant  during  the  afternoon  until 
about  five  o'clock,  when,  a  flag  approaching,  Lieuten 
ant-colonel  Livingston  was  ordered  to  receive  it. 
The  officer  was  the  bearer  of  a  peremptory  sum 
mons  to  surrender,  as  he  alleged,  to  prevent  the  ef 
fusion  of  blood.  Nor  would  he  treat,  unless  upon 
the  basis  of  a  surrender  of  the  garrison  as  prisoners 
of  war,  in  which  case  he  was  authorized  to  assure 
them  of  good  usage.  The  proposition  being  reject 
ed  "  with  scorn,"  in  about  ten  minutes  the  attack 


254  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

was  renewed,  and  kept  up  until  after  dark,  when 
the  enemy  forced  the  American  lines  and  redoubts 
at  both  forts,  and  the  garrisons,  determined  not  to 
surrender,  undertook  to  fight  their  way  out.  The 
last  attack  of  the  enemy  was  desperate  ;  but  the 
Americans,  militia  as  well  as  regulars,  resisted  with 
great  spirit,  and,  favoured  by  the  darkness,  many  of 
them  escaped.  Governor  Clinton  himself  escaped 
by  leaping  a  precipice  in  the  dark,  and  jumping  into 
a  boat,  in  which  he  was  conveyed  away.  His  broth 
er  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  Of  the  British 
forces,  Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell  and  Count  Gra- 
bouski,  a  Polish  nobleman,  engaged  as  a  volunteer 
under  Sir  Henry,  were  slain.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  was  stated 
at  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  British  loss  was  sta 
ted  at  two  hundred,  but  was  believed  to  have  been 
much  more  than  that  of  the  Americans. 

On  the  7th,  a  summons  to  surrender,  signed  joint 
ly  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Commodore  Hotham, 
was  sent  to  Fort  Constitution  ;*  but  the  flag  was 
fired  upon,  and  returned.  To  avenge  the  insult,  an 
attack  was  immediately  determined  upon  ;  but  on  ar 
riving  at  the  fort  on  the  following  day,  there  was 
no  enemy  to  assault,  an  evacuation  having  taken 
place,  so  precipitate  as  to  leave  considerable  booty 
to  the  conqueror.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  proceeded  no 
farther,  but  a  strong  detachment  of  his  army,  under 
General  Vaughan,  pursued  the  enterprise,  with 
Commodore  Hotham,  as  far  north  as  jEsopus,f  de 
stroying  several  vessels  by  the  way.  At  JEsopus 
Creek  there  were  two  small  batteries  and  an  arm 
ed  galley,  mounting,  however,  in  all,  but  six  or  sev- 

*  Situated  at  West  Point. 

t  The  ancient  Dutch  name  of  Kingston,  the  present  shire  town  of  the 
county  of  Ulster,  New- York.  It  was  a  large  and  wealthy  inland  town, 
built  almost  entirely  of  stone,  upon  a  rich  and  beautiful  plain  about  three 
miles  from  the  river.  The  naked  walls  of  many  of  the  houses  destroyed 
by  General  Vaughan  were  standing-,  unrepaired,  until  within  five  or 
$ix  years. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  255 

en  guns.  These  were  easily  silenced.  General 
Vaughan  then  effected  a  landing,  marched  to  the 
town,  and  laid  it  in  ashes.  Large  quantities  of 
stores  had  been  accumulated  at  this  place,  which 
were,  of  course,  destroyed.  Disappointed,  however, 
by  the  disastrous  termination  of  the  campaign  of 
Burgoyne,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  made  an  expeditious 
return  to  the  city. 

But  the  war  was  this  year  fruitful  in  military 
events  in  other  parts  of  the  confederation,  some  of 
the  principal  of  which  may  appropriately  be  passed 
in  review  at  this  stage  of  the  present  chapter.  In 
the  month  of  March,  after  the  return  of  the  British 
troops  from  their  bootless  expedition  through  the 
Jerseys,  to  New-York,  Colonel  Bird  was  detached 
against  Peekskill,  with  five  hundred  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  American  stores  deposit 
ed  at  that  place.  General  M'Dougall,  commanding 
a  small  guard  at  the  depot,  on  the  approach  of  a 
force  which  he  had  not  the  power  to  resist,  set  fire 
to  the  stores  and  retreated.  A  similar  expedition, 
for  the  same  object,  was  directed  against  Danbury 
towards  the  close  of  April,  consisting  of  two  thou 
sand  men,  under  the  conduct  of  Major-general  Try- 
on.  Landing  at  Compo  Creek,  between  Norwalk 
and  Fairfield,  the  march  of  Governor  Tryon  to  the 
point  of  his  destination  was  almost  unopposed.  A 
large  quantity  of  provisions,  beef,  pork,  and  flour, 
had  been  collected  by  the  Americans  at  that  place, 
which  were  guarded  only  by  about  one  hundred  mi 
litia  and  Continental  troops.  Not  being  able  to 
oppose  the  enemy,  Colonel  Huntington  retired  to  a 
neighbouring  height,  and  awaited  re-enforcements. 
The  town  of  Danbury  and  the  stores  were  burned  on 
the  26th  of  April.*  During  the  afternoon  and  fol 
lowing  night,  Generals  Wooster,  Arnold,  and  Silli- 


i  The  property  destroyed  consisted  of  eighteen  houses ;  eight  huu- 
•d/ed  barrels  of  pork  and  beef;  eight  hundred  barrels  of  flour  ;  two  thou 
sand  bushels  of  grain,  and  seventeen  hundred  tents. 


254  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

was  renewed,  and  kept  up  until  after  dark,  when 
the  enemy  forced  the  American  lines  and  redoubts 
at  both  forts,  and  the  garrisons,  determined  not  to 
surrender,  undertook  to  fight  their  way  out.  The 
last  attack  of  the  enemy  was  desperate  ;  but  the 
Americans,  militia  as  well  as  regulars,  resisted  with 
great  spirit,  and,  favoured  by  the  darkness,  many  of 
them  escaped.  Governor  Clinton  himself  escaped 
by  leaping  a  precipice  in  the  dark,  and  jumping  into 
a  boat,  in  which  he  was  conveyed  away.  His  broth 
er  was  wounded  and  t'jken  prisoner.  Of  the  British 
forces,  Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell  and  Count  Gra- 
bouski,  a  Polish  nobleman,  engaged  as  a  volunteer 
under  Sir  Henry,  were  slain.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  was  stated 
at  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  British  loss  was  sta 
ted  at  two  hundred,  but  was  believed  to  have  been 
much  more  than  that  of  the  Americans. 

On  the  7th,  a  summons  to  surrender,  signed  joint 
ly  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Commodore  Hotham, 
was  sent  to  Fort  Constitution  ;*  but  the  flag  was 
fired  upon,  and  returned.  To  avenge  the  insult,  an 
attack  was  immediately  determined  upon  ;  but  on  ar 
riving  at  the  fort  on  the  following  day,  there  was 
no  enemy  to  assault,  an  evacuation  having  taken 
place,  so  precipitate  as  to  leave  considerable  booty 
to  the  conqueror.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  proceeded  no 
farther,  but  a  strong  detachment  of  his  army,  under 
General  Vaughan,  pursued  the  enterprise,  with 
Commodore  Hotham,  as  far  north  as  JEsopus,f  de 
stroying  several  vessels  by  the  way.  At  ^Esopus 
Creek  there  were  two  small  batteries  and  an  arm 
ed  galley,  mounting,  however,  in  all,  but  six  or  sev- 

*  Situated  at  West  Point, 

t  The  .ancient  Dutch  name  of  Kingston,  the  present  shire  town  of  the 
county  of  Ulster,  New- York.  It  was  a  large  and  wealthy  inland  town, 
built  almost  entirely  of  stone,  upon  a  rich  and  beautiful  plain  about  three 
miles  from  the  river.  The  naked  walls  of  many  of  the  houses  destroyed 
by  General  Vaughan  \vere  standing-,  unrepaired,  until  within  five  of 
eix  years. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  255 

en  guns.  These  were  easily  silenced.  General 
Vaughan  then  effected  a  landing,  inarched  to  the 
town,  and  laid  it  in  ashes.  Large  quantities  of 
stores  had  been  accumulated  at  this  place,  which 
were,  of  course,  destroyed.  Disappointed,  however, 
by  the  disastrous  termination  of  the  campaign  of 
Burgoyne,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  made  an  expeditious 
return  to  the  city. 

But  the  war  was  this  year  fruitful  in  military 
events  in  other  parts  of  the  confederation,  some  of 
the  principal  of  which  may  appropriately  be  passed 
in  review  at  this  stage  of  the  present  chapter.  In 
the  month  of  March,  after  the  return  of  the  British 
troops  from  their  bootless  expedition  through  the 
Jerseys,  to  New-York,  Colonel  Bird  was  detached 
against  Peekskill,  with  five  hundred  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  American  stores  deposit 
ed  at  that  place.  General  M'Dougall,  commanding 
a  small  guard  at  the  depot,  on  the  approach  of  a 
force  which  he  had  not  the  power  to  resist,  set  fire 
to  the  stores  and  retreated.  A  similar  expedition, 
for  the  same  object,  was  directed  against  Danbury 
towards  the  close  of  April,  consisting  of  two  thou 
sand  men,  under  the  conduct  of  Major-general  Try- 
on.  Landing  at  Compo  Creek,  between  Norwalk 
and  Fairfield,  the  march  of  Governor  Tryon  to  the 
point  of  his  destination  was  almost  unopposed.  A 
large  quantity  of  provisions,  beef,  pork,  and  flour, 
had  been  collected  by  the  Americans  at  that  place, 
which  were  guarded  only  by  about  one  hundred  mi 
litia  and  Continental  troops.  Not  being  able  to 
oppose  the  enemy,  Colonel  Huntington  retired  to  a 
neighbouring  height,  and  awaited  re-enforcements. 
The  town  of  Danbury  and  the  stores  were  burned  on 
the  26th  of  April.*  During  the  afternoon  and  fol 
lowing  night,  Generals  Wooster,  Arnold,  and  Silli- 

i  The  property  destroyed  consisted  of  eighteen  houses ;  eight  hun- 
4red  barrels  of  pork  and  beef;  eight  hundred  barrels  of  flour  ;  two  thou- 
•arul  bushels  cf  grain,  and  seventeen  hundred  tents. 


258  BORDER    WARS   OF   THE 

General  Washington  had  taken  post  on  the  east- 
em  bank  of  the  Schuylkill,  about  sixteen  miles  from 
Germantown.  General  Howe  marched  upon  Ger- 
maiitown  with  his  main  army,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  26th  of  September.  On  the  27th,  Lord  Cornwal- 
lis  took  possession  of  Philadelphia  without  resist 
ance.  On  the  4th  of  October,  the  battle  of  German- 
town  was  fought,  in  which  it  was  claimed  by  the 
enemy  that  the  Americans  were  defeated,  although 
it  was,  in  fact,  a  drawn  battle.  This  action  was 
produced  by  an  attempt  of  the  commander-in-chief 
to  effect  something  by  way  of  surprise.  Having 
ascertained  the  situation  of  the  enemy,  the  Amef- 
icans  marched  all  night,  and  arrived  at  Germantown 
at  daylight.  The  enemy  was  attacked  upon  two 
quarters,  in  both  of  which  the  Americans  were  suc 
cessful.  Indeed,  the  enemy,  as  it  was  afterward 
ascertained,  were  thrown  into  such  a  state  of  tumult 
and  disorder,  and  so  panic-stricken,  that  a  retreat  to 
Chester  had  been  resolved  upon.  But  the  morning 
was  so  excessively  dark  and  foggy,  that  neither  the 
advantages  gained  by  the  Americans,  nor  the  confu 
sion  of  the  enemy,  could  be  perceived.  This  cir 
cumstance,  by  concealing  from  the  Americans  the 


a  sacrifice  to  British  barbarity,  during-  the  struggle  for  American  inde 
pendence,  during  the  night  of  the  20th  of  September,  1777." 

SECOND:  "Here  repose  the  remains  of  fifty-three  American  soldiers, 
who  were  the  victims  of  cold-blooded  cruelty  in  the  well-known  massa 
cre  of  the  Paoli,  while  under  the  command  of  General  Anthony  Wayne, 
an  officer  whose  military  conduct,  bravery,  and  humanity  were  equally 
conspicuous  throughout  the  Revolutionary  war." 

THIRD  :  "  The  atrocious  massacre,  which  this  stone  commemorates, 
was  perpetrated  by  British  troops  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Major-general  Gray." 

FOURTH  :  "  This  memorial,  in  honour  of  Revolutionary  patriotism,  was 
erected  September  20,  1817,  by  the  Republican  Artillerists  of  Chester 
county,  aided  by  the  contributions  of  their  fellow-citizens." 

An  annual  military  parade  is  held  upon  this  interesting  field.  The 
name — The  Paoli — is  derived  from  a  celebrated  tavern,  at  two  miles'  dis 
tance,  on  the  great  Lancaster  road,  which  was  established  contempora 
neously  with  the  Corsican  struggle  fur  independence,  and  named  ia 
honour  of  the  unfortunate  chieftain  of  that  enterprise.  It  bears  th» 
Karae  name  still 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  259 

true  situation  of  the  enemy,  obliged  the  commander- 
in-chief  to  act  with  more  caution  and  less  expedi 
tion  than  he  could  have  wished  ;  and,  what  was  still 
more  unfortunate,  it  served  to  keep  the  different  di 
visions  of  the  Americans  in  ignorance  of  each  other's 
movements,  and  preventing  their  acting  in  concert. 
It  also  occasioned  them  to  mistake  one  another  for 
the  eneni)'.  In  this  situation,  it  was  considered  un 
safe  to  push  too  far  through  a  strong  village,  while 
enveloped  in  a  haze  so  thick  as  to  border  upon  posi 
tive  darkness.  The  consequence  was  a  retreat  by 
the  Americans  at  the  very  instant  when  victory  was 
declaring  in  their  favour.  The  action  lasted  two 
hours,  and  the  fighting  was  severe,  the  loss  of  the 
Americans  being  about  one  hundred  men,  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing.  Among  the  slain  was  the 
brave  General  Nash,  of  North  Carolina.  Severe, 
however,  as  the  action  was,  the  enemy  were  ren 
dered  nothing  better  by  the  event ;  while  the  result 
was  regarded  by  Washington  "  as  rather  unfortu 
nate  than  injurious."* 

But  all  the  advantages  thus  gained  by  the  enemy 

*  This  brief  account  of  the  battle  of  Germantown  is  drawn  from  Wash 
ington's  letters  to  the  President  of  Congress,  his  brother,  and  Governor 
Trumbull.  General  Washington  attributed  the  successes  of  Sir  Will 
iam  Howe  in  Pennsylvania,  and  his  own  consequent  disasters,  to  the 
apathy  and  disaffection  of  the  people  of  that  state.  In  one  of  his  letters 
upon  the  subject,  he  says,  "  The  Northern  army,  before  the  surrender 
of  General  Burgoyne,  was  re-enforced  by  upward  of  twelve  hundred  mi 
litia,  who  shut  the  only  door  by  which  Burgoyne  could  retreat,  and  cut 
off  all  his  supplies.  How  different  our  case  !  The  disaffection  of  a  great 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  state,  the  langour  of  others,  and  the  inter 
nal  distraction  of  the  whole,  have  been  among  the  great  and  insuperable 
difficulties  which  I  have  met  with,  and  have  contributed  not  a  little  to 
my  embarrassments  this  campaign."  Many  other  letters  from  the  COHI- 
mander-in -chief,  written  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1778,  complain 
of  the  conduct  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  in  supplying  the  enemy  in 
Philadelphia  with  provisions,  particularly  from  Bucks  county.  In  a  let 
ter  to  Major-general  Armstrong,  of  that  state,  dated  at  Valley  Forge, 
March  27th,  he  says,  "The  situation  of  matters  in  this  state  is  melan 
choly  and  alarming.  We  have  daily  proof  that  a  majority  of  the  people 
in.  this  quarter  are  only  restrained  from  supplying  the  enemy  with  horses, 
and  every  kind  of  necessary,  through  fear  of  punishment ;  and  although 
I  have  made  a  number  of  severe  examples,  I  cannot  put  a  stop  to  the  in 
tercourse." 


260  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

had  been  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  rever 
ses  of  St.  Leger,  and  the  nearly  simultaneous  cap 
ture  of  Burgoyne  and  his  well-appointed  army  at 
the  North.  Another  circumstance,  gratifying  to  the 
friends  of  the  American  arms,  was  the  repulse  of 
Count  Donop,  at  Red  Bank.  The  count,  a  brave 
and  experienced  officer,  fell,  mortally  wounded,  and 
about  400  hundred  of  his  troops  were  killed.  The 
laurels  won  by  Colonel  Christopher  Greene,  the 
American  commander  on  that  occasion,  were  not 
the  less  creditably  worn  because  of  the  necessity 
which  compelled  him  subsequently  to  abandon  the 
post,  on  the  approach  of  Cornwall's  with  a  greatly 
superior  force. 

But  neither  the  fall  of  Burgoyne  nor  the  flight  of 
St.  Leger  relieved  the  border  settlements  beyond 
Albany  from  their  apprehensions.  Though  in  less 
clanger  of  a  sweeping  invasion,  yet  the  scouts  and 
scalping  parties  of  the  Tories  and  Indians  were  con 
tinually  hovering  upon  their  outskirts  ;  and  so  crafty 
were  the  foe,  and  so  stealthy  their  movements,  that 
no  neighbourhood,  not  even  the  most  populous  vil 
lages,  felt  themselves  secure  from  those  sudden  and 
bloody  irruptions  which  mark  the  annals  of  Indian 
warfare.  Very  soon  after  the  capture  of  Burgoyne, 
there  was  an  occurrence  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Al 
bany,  of  a  highly  painful  description.  Previous  to 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  a  militia  company 
had  been  organized  in  the  town  of  Berne,  compri 
sing  eighty-five  men,  commanded  by  Captain  Ball. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities,  the  captain,  with 
sixty-three  of  his  men,  went  over  to  the  enemy. 
Thus  deserted  by  their  leader,  the  command  of  the 
residue  of  the  company  devolved  upon  the  ensign, 
Peter  Deitz.  These  all  embraced  the  cause  of  the 
country,  and  for  the  safety  of  their  settlement  threw 
up  a  little  picketed  fort,  at  a  place  now  called  the  Bea 
ver  Dam.  Deitz  was  soon  afterward  commissioned 
a  captain,  and  his  brother,  William  Deitz,  his  lieu- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  261 

tenant.  On  the  approach  of  Burgoyne  they  march 
ed  to  Saratoga,  and  joined  the  army  of  Gates.  Here 
the  captain  was  killed  by  the  accidental  discharge 
of  the  gun  of  one  of  his  own  men.  William  Deitz 
immediately  succeeded  to  the  vacancy,  and  render 
ed  such  good  service  in  the  campaign  as  specially 
to  incur  the  vengeance  of  the  Tories  and  Indians. 
Availing  themselves  of  an  early  opportunity  to  glut 
their  hate,  a  party  of  them  stole  into  the  settlement 
of  Berne,  where  they  surprised  and  made  prisonei 
of  the  captain  in  his  own  house.  They  next  brought 
him  forth  into  the  court,  bound  him  to  the  gate-post, 
and  then  successively  brought  out  his  father  and 
mother,  his  wife  and  children,  and  deliberately  mur 
dered  them  all  before  his  eyes !  The  captain  was 
himself  carried  a  prisoner  to  Niagara,  where  he  ul 
timately  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  cruelty.  An  in 
stance  of  more  cool  and  fiendlike  barbarity  does 
not  occur  in  the  annals  of  this  extraordinary  con 
test.  It  was  only  equalled  by  the  conduct  of  the 
Tories  afterward  at  Wyoming,  and  transcended  by 
the  refinement  of  cruelty  practised  by  a  French  offi 
cer,  during  one  of  the  earlier  wars  of  the  Indians, 
upon  an  unhappy  prisoner  among  the  remote  tribe 
of  the  Dionondadies,  as  related  by  La  Potherie. 

Other  incidents  occurred  at  Albany  and  in  its 
neighbourhood,  at  about  the  same  period,  which  are 
deemed  worthy  of  note.  At  the  time  of  Sir  John 
Johnson's  flight  from  Johnstown,  his  lady  had  re 
mained  behind,  and  was  removed  immediately,  or 
soon  afterward,  to  Albany.  It  was  in  this  year  that 
Mr.  John  Taylor,  after  having  performed  several 
important  confidential  services  under  the  direction 
of  General  Schuyler,  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Albany  Council  of  Safety.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
shrewdness  and  sagacity,  deliberate  in  the  forma 
tion  of  his  purposes,  and  resolute  in  their  execution 
when  matured.  The  WThigs  of  Albany  were  greatly 
annoyed  during  the  whole  contest  by  the  Loyalists 


262  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

resident  among  them ;  many  of  whom,  it  was  dis* 
covered  from  time  to  time,  must  have  been  in  cor 
respondence  with  the  enemy.  The  duties  of  the 
Council  of  Safety  were  consequently  the  more  ar 
duous,  requiring  sleepless  vigilance  and  unwearied 
activity,  together  with  firmness  and  energy  in  some 
cases,  and  great  delicacy  in  others.  A  watchful 
though  general  surveillance  was  necessarily  enfor 
ced  over  the  community  at  large,  while  an  eye  of 
closer  scrutiny  was  kept  upon  the  character  and 
conduct,  of  great  numbers  of  individuals  composing 
that  community.  Mr.  Taylor  was  in  every  respect 
equal  to  the  station,  and  was  singularly  fortunate 
both  in  detecting  and  defeating  the  evil  machina 
tions  of  the  adherents  of  the  crown. 

Among  his  early  discoveries  was  the  important 
circumstance  that  Lady  Johnson  was  in  active  and 
frequent  correspondence  with  her  husband,  and  that 
the  facilities  derived  from  confidential  agents  and 
her  powerful  connexions  enabled  her  to  keep  the 
enemy  on  either  side — in  New-York  and  Canada— 
correctly  advised,  not  only  of  the  movements  and 
designs  of  each  other,  but  likewise  of  the  situation 
of  American  affairs.  Under  these  circumstances,  Mr, 
Taylor  proposed  a  resolution  to  the  council,  directing 
her  removal  forthwith  from  that  part  of  the  country. 
The  proposition  was  received  with  disfavour,  and 
encountered  much  opposition  in  the  council.  Some 
of  the  members  seemed  to  lack  the  firmness  neces 
sary  to  adopt  such  a  resolution,  anticipating  the  re 
sentment  and  probable  vengeance  of  the  baronet,  on 
hearing  that  his  lady  had  been  treated  with  anything 
bordering  upon  harshness ;  while  others,  probably, 
!  nought  the  precaution  either  would  be  useless,  or 
that  it  was  scarce  worth  while  thus  to  wage  war 
upon  a  woman.  Convinced,  however,  of  the  dan 
ger  of  her  longer  presence  in  that  section  of  the 
country,  Mr.  Taylor  urged  her  removal  so  strenu 
ously  as  at  length  to  prevail,  taking  upon  himself 
the  execution  of  the  order 


AMERICAN    KEVOLUTiON.  263 

Sir  John,  greatly  exasperated  at  the  measure, 
availed  himself  of  a  flag  to  admonish  the  mover  of 
,the  resolution  that,  should  the  chances  of  war 
throw  that  gentleman  into  his  possession,  he  should 
be  instantly  delivered  over  to  the  fury  of  the  sava 
ges.  The  reply  of  the  councillor  was  characteristic 
of  the  man :  "  If  Mr.  Taylor  should  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  Sir  John  Johnson  in  his  power,  he  should 
most  assuredly  be  treated  as  a  gentleman."  Sever 
al  attempts  were  subsequently  made  by  the  enemy, 
probably  under  the  direction  of  Sir  John,  to  make  a 
captive  of  that  gentleman.  It  being  his  custom  to 
ride  frequently  on  horseback  for  exercise,  and  often 
on  the  road  leading  towards  Schenectady,  in  compa 
ny,  generally,  with  his  intimate  friend  through  life, 
Major  Popham,  who  was  then  in  the  military  family 
of  General  James  Clinton,  a  small  scout  of  Indians, 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  Brant,  was  on  one 
occasion  planted  in  ambush  upon  that  road,  at  a 
point  where  it  was  supposed  he  would  be  sure  to 
pass.  Providentially,  however,  and  for  reasons 
never  explained,  and  perhaps  not  known  to  them 
selves,  on  the  morning  referred  to  the  friends  short 
ened  their  ride,  and  wheeled  about  without  passing 
the  ambuscade,  though  approaching  it  within  stri 
king  distance.  One  of  the  Indians,  afterward  taken 
prisoner,  stated  that  Mr.  Taylor  might  easily  have 
been  shot,  but  that  their  orders  were  to  take  him 
alive. 

Another,  and  a  yet  bolder  scheme,  was  subsequent 
ly  adopted  to  effect  the  capture  of  the  sagacious 
committee-man,  for  which  purpose  a  party  of  the 
enemy  were  actually  introduced,  not  only  into  the 
city  of  Albany,  but  into  the  loft  of  Mr.  Taylor's  own 
stable,  standing  in  the  rear  of  his  house,  and  upon 
die  margin  of  the  river.  In  order,  moreover,  to  fa 
cilitate  their  flight  with  the  intended  captive,  a  ca 
noe  had  been  procured  and  moored  at  the  waters 
edge.  Their  design  was  to  enter  the  house  in  the  night* 


264  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

and  seize  and  bear  him  silently  away.  One  of  the 
servants  happening  to  step  into  the  yardvafter  the 
family  had  retired  to  rest,  the  lurking  foes  thought 
the  time  for  a  rush  had  arrived.  But,  in  their  prep 
arations  to  spring  forward,  they  alarmed  the  ser 
vant  too  soon,  and  he  was  enabled  to  get  back  into 
the  house,  bolt  the  door,  and  give  timely  warning. 
The  insidious  purpose  was,  of  course,  frustrated. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  hostile  attempts  direct 
ed,  at  about  the  same  period,  against  individuals  at 
Albany  ;  General  Schuyler  was  again  selected  for  a 
victim  even  of  assassination.  Smarting  under  their 
disappointment  in  the  overthrow  of  Burgoyne,  to 
which  discomfiture  the  energy  and  efforts  of  Schuy 
ler  had  so  essentially  contributed,  a  conspiracy  was 
formed  either  to  capture  or  destroy  him.  For  this 
purpose  the  Tories  corrupted  a  white  man,  who  had 
been  patronised  by  the  general,  and  who  was  even 
then  in  his  employment,  to  do  the  foul  deed,  and 
also  one  of  the  friendly  Indians,  whose  clan  had  for 
years  been  in  the  habit  of  hutting  upon  his  premises 
in  Saratoga,  during  the  fishing  season  at  Fish  Creek, 
which  ran  through  his  farm,  and  in  which  immense 
quantities  of  fish  were  then  taken.  To  effect  their 
object,  the  two  assassins  took  their  station  under  a 
covert,  in  a  valley  about  half  a  mile  from  the  gen 
eral's  premises,  by  which  they  had  previously  ascer 
tained  he  was  shortly  to  pass.  They  soon  descried 
his  approach  on  horseback.  As  he  advanced,  they 
took  deliberate  aim ;  when,  with  a  sudden  move 
ment,  the  Indian  struck  up  his  associate's  gun,  with 
the  exclamation,  "  /  cannot  kill  him  :  I  have  eaten  his 
bread  too  often  /" 

Karly  in  the  autumn,  the  inhabitants  of  Unadilla 
and  the  contiguous  settlements  in  that  direction 
were  again  imploring  the  commander  of  Fort  Schuy 
ler  for  a  detachment,  of  troops  to  protect  them  from 
another  expedition,  which,  the  Oneidas  had  inform 
ed  them,  Colonels  Johnson  and  Butler  were  getting 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  265 

on  foot  at  Oswego.  The  project,  according  to  the 
news  obtained  from  the  Oneidas,  contemplated  a 
simultaneous  descent  of  the  Tories  and  Indians 
upon  five  different  points,  comprehending  all  the 
principal  settlements  west  of  Schenectady.  These 
unpleasant  tidings  were  in  some  degree  confirmed 
by  the  discovery  of  a  large  scouting  party  of  the  en 
emy  on  the  Sacondaga,  at  the  north  of  Johnstown. 

The  alarm  was  increased,  towards  the  close  of 
October,  by  the  arrival  of  an  express  at  the  Canajo- 
harie  Castle,  announcing  that  within  a  few  days  Sir 
John  Johnson  would  return  to  Oswego,  with  six 
hundred  regular  troops  and  a  large  body  of  Indians. 
It  was  stated  that  Sir  John  had  succeeded  in  raising 
twenty-two  Indian  nations  in  arms  against  the  colo 
nists.  They  were  about  sending  a  belt  to  the  Onei 
das,  and,  in  the  event  of  their  refusal  to  take  up  the 
hatchet  with  their  brethren  in  behalf  of  the  king, 
they  were  themselves  to  be  attacked,  as  the  first 
measure  of  the  invasion.  These  facts  were  imme 
diately  communicated  to  General  Schuyler  by  a  let 
ter  dated  October  25th,  announcing  also  the  flight,  to 
the  ranks  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  of  Hon-Yost  Schuy 
ler,  and  twelve  or  fourteen  of  his  neighbours  at  Fall 
Hill  and  in  that  vicinity,  as  heretofore  stated.  The 
letter  contained  a  strong  appeal  for  an  additional 
force  to  defend  the  valley,  with  an  assurance  that, 
in  the  event  of  receiving  no  farther  means  of  secu 
rity,  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  had  become 
so  discouraged  that  they  would  probably  lay  down 
iheir  arms  ;  in  other  words,  throw  themselves  upon 
the  protection  of  the  king. 

But,  after  all  the  alarm,  nothing  very  serious  re 
sulted  from  these  threatening  indications  during  the 
residue  of  the  year  1777.  Still  the  Congress  was 
unwilling  that  the  year  should  close  without  making 
one  more  effort  to  win  back  the  Six  Nations  from 
the  British  service,  at  least  to  a  state  of  neutrality, 
if  nothing  more.  With  this  view,  on  the  3d  of  De- 

VOL.  I.— X 


266  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

cember  an  eloquent  and  powerful  address  to  the 
Indians  of  those  nations  was  reported  by  the  com 
mittee  on  Indian  affairs,  and  adopted. 

But  the  appeal  produced  no  effect.  It  was  one  of 
the  misfortunes  incident  to  the  poverty  of  the  coun 
try  at  that  crisis,  that  Congress  was  unable  to  con 
ciliate  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  by  such  a  liberal 
dispensation  of  presents  as  they  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  receiving  from  the  superintendents  of  the 
crown,  and  as  they  were  yet  enabled  to  receive 
from  the  British  government  at  or  by  the  way  of 
Montreal.  Thayendanegea,  early  in  the  preceding 
year,  had  taunted  General  Herkimer,  at  Unadilla, 
with  the  poverty  of  the  Continental  government, 
which,  he  said,  was  not  able  to  give  the  Indians  a 
blanket.  The  charge  was  but  too  true  ;  and  the 
officers  of  the  crown  were  not  slow  in  availing 
themselves  of  it,  not  only  by  appeals  to  their  cupid 
ity,  but  by  a  more  lavish  bestowment  of  presents 
than  ever.  And  under  these  circumstances,  with 
the  single  exceptions  of  the  Oneidas  and  the  feeble 
band  of  the  Tuscaroras,  all  the  efforts  of  Congress 
to  conciliate  their  friendship,  or  even  to  persuade 
them  to  neutrality,  proved  unavailing. 

Thus  ended  the  military  operations  of  the  year 
1777.  At  the  close  of  the  Pennsylvania  campaign, 
the  British  army  went  into  winter-quarters  in  Phila 
delphia,  and  the  American  at  Valley  Forge.  On  the 
15th  day  of  November,  what  are  now  called  the  old 
"Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union" 
between  the  thirteen  colonies  were  adopted  by 
Congress  ;  and  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month  it 
was  resolved  that  all  proposals  for  a  treaty  between, 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  inconsistent 
with  the  independence  of  the  former  should  be  re 
jected.  It  was  likewise  farther  resolved  that  no 
conference  should  be  held  with  any  commissioners 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  unless,  as  a  measure 
preliminary,  the  fleets  and  armies  of  that  power 
were  withdrawn. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  267 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

year  1778  was  marked  by  an 


>vnt  mare      y  an 

event  that  diffused  universal  joy  among  the  people 
It  had  been  rightly  judged  by  American  statesmen' 
that,  smarting  under  the  loss  which  France  had  ex 
penenced  by  the  war  ending  in  1763   of  hertroad 
JNorth  American  possessions,  the  government  of 

nmctionT  M  **  "^  J°th  tO  2H  thi 
Great  Brit/i     llk?  d'?me™°erment  of  territory  upon 
trreat  Britain.      With  a  view,  therefore,  of  cultiva 
ting  friendly  relations  with  France,  and  deririmr  a 

5SJh±fi  l°  H11^  e°vernme<"     Still,  rorTthan  a 
had  been  exert    '  th^  TMch  the  c^rnissioners* 
been  exerting  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  ob- 

wiSt1011  °f  the  inTdePende^e  of  the  United 

nnnn  t!SUCCeSJS-     R  Was  evident  that  France 
uon  t 


looked  nnnn  t-  as  event  tat  France 

>oked  upon  the  revolt  of  the  American  colonies 


eaenevt 

needed  ?  for  I  ^   C°nteSt'  that  time  was 

HencP  frnm  fhP°Se  ^  recovery  of  her  strength. 
French  cZ  ?°  ^n^1  °lthe  commissioners  in  the 
1777  thPvP  /  Hfin  DTmber'  1776,  to  the  close  of 

ItL'trueVit  th    !n  llVmg  Up°n  "h°Pe  deferred.» 
t  is  true  that  the  Americans  received  zre  at  assist 
ance  from  the  French  in  supplies  of  arSs  and  am 
munition;    and  although  n 


H 

dispose  of  their  prizes  in  French  ports. 


onad  bee  ,  and  Ar- 

comoussioners  •  but  dedmint  fh     °nglna-Uy  des.gnated  as  one  of  the 
in  his  stead.  '  declmm^  the  appointment,  Mr.  Lee  was  selected 


268  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Still,  the  government  was  lavish  in  its  professions 
of  friendship  for  England,  even  though  confiden 
tially  giving  the  Americans  strong  assurances  of 
sympathy  and  ultimate  assistance.  The  untoward 
result  of  Burgoyne's  campaign,  intelligence  of  which 
was  received  in  Paris  early  in  December,  was  the 
opportune  means  of  ending  this  vascillating  policy 
on  the  part  of  the  court  of  Versailles.  The  feelings 
of  the  French  people  towards  England  could  no 
longer  be  disguised,  since  the  news  occasioned  as 
much  general  joy  as  though  the  victory  had  been 
achieved  by  their  own  arms.  The  consequence 
was,  that,  on  the  6th  of  February,  the  French  gov 
ernment  entered  into  treaties  of  amity,  commerce, 
and  alliance  with  the  United  States,  on  principles 
of  the  most  perfect  reciprocity  and  equality.  The 
French  cabinet  clearly  foresaw  that  this  measure 
would  soon  produce  a  war  between  themselves  and 
England,  and  acted  in  the  expectation  of  such  a  con 
sequence.  Indeed,  M.  Girard,  one  of  the  French  sec 
retaries  of  state,  in  his  conferences  with  the  Amer 
ican  commissioners,  had  the  frankness  to  avow  that 
they  were  not  acting  wholly  for  the  sake  of  the 
United  States,  but  because  they  thought  the  mo 
ment  a  favourable  one  for  humbling  their  haughty 
rival,  by  aiding  in  the  dismemberment  of  her  em 
pire.  Hence,  the  king  had  not  only  determined  to 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  United  States, 
but  to  support  it,  without  the  expectation  of  compen 
sation. 

The  news  of  the  treaty  with  France  was  not  re 
ceived  in  the  United  States  until  late  in  the  spring.* 

*  The  event  was  commemorated  in  the  American  camp,  on  the  7th  of 
May,  in  a  style  corresponding  with  its  importance,  a  general  order  for 
the  celebration  having  been  issued  by  the  commander-in-chief.  It  be 
gan  as  follows  :  "  It  having  pleased  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  Universe 
to  defend  the  cause  of  the  United  American  States,  and  finally  to  raise 
•us  up  a  powerful  friend  among  the  princes  of  the  earth  to  establish  our 
liberty  and  independence  upon  a  lasting  foundation,  it  becomes  us  to  set 
apart  a  day  for  gratefully  acknowledging  the  Divine  goodness,  and  cele 
brating'  the  important  event,  which  we  owe  to  his  divine  interposition." 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  269 

Meantime  other  circumstances  occurred  during  the 
winter,  in  the  northern  part  of  New- York,  deserv 
ing  of  note  in  the  present  narrative.  First  among 
these  was  the  notable  project  of  General  Gates  for 
a  second  descent,  in  mid-winter,  upon  Canada.  In 
November  following  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne,  on  the 
reorganization  of  the  Board  of  War,  Gates,  in  the 
first  flush  of  his  popularity,  was  placed  at  its  head 
as  president.  He  had  not  been  long  at  Yorktown, 
where  Congress  was  then  in  session,  before  he  con 
ceived  the  project  of  directing  an  irruption  into 
Canada  across  the  ice  upon  Lake  Champlain,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  stores  and  shipping  of  the 
enemy  at  St.  John's,  and,  possibly,  of  striking  a 
sudden  blow  upon  Montreal.  It  was  subsequently 
but  too  well  ascertained  that  the  condition  of  the 
Northern  army,  with  which  Gates  certainly  ought 
to  have  been  acquainted,  was  by  no  means  such  as 
to  warrant  the  undertaking  of  any  offensive  enter 
prise.  Still,  the  victorious  commander  of  the  North 
had  the  address  to  obtain  a  vote  of  Congress  direct 
ing  the  expedition,  the  conduct  of  which  was  in 
trusted  to  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette.  This  gallant 
young  nobleman  had  been  burning  with  a  desire  to 
distinguish  himself  in  a  separate  command,  and  this 
project  opened  to  him  the  prospect  of  realizing  the 
object  dearest  to  his  heart. 

But  neither  in  the  inception  nor  in  the  maturing 
of  the  enterprise  had  the  commander-iii-chief  been 
consulted  ;  and  the  first  knowledge  he  possessed  of 
the  project  was  derived  from  a  letter  from  General 
Gates,  enclosing  another  to  the  marquis,  informing 
him  of  his  appointment  to  the  command.  The  dis- 

The  pageant  was  strictly  military,  and  is  described  by  the  letters  of  that 
day  as  exceedingly  brilliant.  The  joy  manifested  was  unfeigned  and 
unspeakable.  The  commander-in-chief  dined  in  public  with  all  the  offi 
cers  of  his  army.  "  When  his  excellency  took  his  leave,  there  was  a 
universal  clap,  with  loud  huzzas,  which  continued  until  he  had  proceed 
ed  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  during  which  time  there  were  a  thousand  hats 
tossed  in  the  air.  His  excellency  turned  round  with  his  retinue,  and 
buzzaed  several  times."—  Letter  ofan  officer. 


270  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

respect  to  the  commander-in-chief,  to  whom  th© 
youthful  soldier  was  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of 
friendship  and  respect,  was  so  manifest,  that  the 
marquis  at  first  hesitated  in  accepting  the  command. 
Nor  was  his  reluctance  lessened  by  the  suspicious 
circumstance  that  General  Conway,  the  base  instru 
ment  of  the  Gates  faction  in  the  conspiracy  against 
Washington,  had  been  assigned  as  his  second  in 
command.  Soaring  above  all  selfish  considerations, 
however,  Washington  advised  the  marquis  to  accept 
the  trust  confided  to  him  by  Congress.  Lafayette, 
therefore,  repaired  from  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge 
to  Yorktown,  to  be  more  particularly  advised  as  to 
the  object  and  the  details  of  the  enterprise.  The 
plan  of  organizing  a  light  but  efficient  force,  to  make 
a  sudden  dash  upon  St.  John's,  and  destroy  the  flo 
tilla  which  gave  the  enemy  the  command  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and  to  inflict  such  farther  injury  as  might 
be  effected  in  a  rapid  campaign,  was  fully  unfolded 
to  him.  Ample  supplies  of  men  and  means  were 
promised  by  Gates ;  and,  after  securing  the  services 
of  the  Baron  de  Kalb  to  the  expedition — an  officer 
older  in  rank  than  Conway,  who  would  necessarily 
be  his  second  in  command — the  marquis  accepted 
the  appointment. 

Full  ofhigh  hopes,  a  brilliant  enterprise  before  him/ 
and  panting  for  an  opportunity  to  signalize  himself  in 
a  separate  command,  the  marquis  pushed  forward  to 
Albany,  amid  all  the  rigours  of  winter,  to  enter  at 
once  upon  the  service,  and  apparently  with  as  much 
confidence  as  though  he  had  achieved  the  exploit. 
Sad,  however,  was  his  disappointment  at  the  posture 
of  affairs  on  his  arrival  at  Albany.  Conway,  who  had 
arrived  there  three  days  before  him,  at  once  assured 
him  that  the  expedition  was  quite  impossible.  Such, 
likewise,  was  the  opinion  of  Generals  Schuyleir 
Lincoln,  and  Arnold,  the  latter  two  of  whom  werr 
detained  at  Albany  by  the  unhealed  wounds  receiv 
ed  upon  the  fields  of  Saratoga.  Indeed,  he  was  ncv 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  271 

long  in  ascertaining,  from  the  quartermaster,  com 
missary,  and  clothier-generals,  that  there  was  a 
lamentable  deficiency  of  almost  every  necessary  of 
which  he  had  been  led  to  expect  an  abundant  sup 
ply.  The  number  of  troops  was  altogether  inade 
quate.  Three  thousand  effective  men  were  believ 
ed  to  be  the  smallest  force  that  would  suffice,  and 
that  number  was  promised.  But  scarcely  twelve 
hundred  could  be  mustered  fit  for  duty,  and  the 
greater  part  of  these  were  too  naked  even  for  a 
summer  campaign.  Their  pay  was  greatly  in  ar- 
rear,  and  officers  and  men  were  alike  indisposed  to 
the  service.*  Originally  it  had  been  intended  to 
confide  the  proposed  expedition  to  General  Stark, 
whose  prowess  at  the  battle  of  Bennington  had  ren 
dered  him  exceedingly  popular  with  the  people  ;  and 
it  was  supposed  that  he  could  at  once  bring  into  the 
field  a  sufficient  number  of  his  mountaineers  to  strike 
the  blow  with  success.  Stark  was  invited  to  Al 
bany,  and  James  Duane  was  sent  thither  from  Con 
gress  to  confer  with  him  upon  the  subject.  But  the 
inducement  offered  by  Congress  being  in  the  form 
of  a  bounty,  contingent  only  upon  success,  was 
thought  not  sufficient ;  and  when  a  representation 
of  the  circumstances  was  made  by  Mr.  Duane  to 
that  body,  the  scheme  was  changed  and  enlarged,  at 
the  suggestion  of  General  Gates,  according  to  the 
plan  which  the  marquis  was  to  execute. 

Having  attentively  examined  the  situation  of  af 
fairs  and  the  means  within  his  control,  and  consult- 

*  On  the  19th  of  February,  James  Duane  wrote  to  Governor  Clinton 
respecting-  the  impracticability  of  the  enterprise,  since  the  marquis  could 
find  neither  the  troops  nor  the  preparations.  In  the  course  of  his  letter, 
Mr.  Duane  said  of  the  marquis,  "  His  zeal  for  this  country,  of  which 
he  has  given  marks  even  to  enthusiasm,  and  his  ardent  desire  of  glory, 
iead  him  to  wish  the  expedition  practicable  ;  but  he  is  too  considerate  to 
pursue  it  rashly,  or  without  probable  grounds  of  a  successful  issue.  I 
must  mention  to  your  excellency  a  circumstance  which  shows  the  liber 
ality  of  his  disposition.  He  determined,  on  his  entering  into  Canada,  to 
supply  his  army  through  his  own  private  bills  on  France  to  the  amount 
of  five  or  six  thousand  guineas,  and  to  present  that  sum  to  Congress  a» 
a  proof  of  his  love  to  America  and  the  rights  of  human  nature." 


272  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ed  with  the  several  able  captains  at  Albany,  the 
young1  soldier  saw  with  inexpressible  chagrin  that 
the  obstacles  were  insuperable.  In  the  language  of 
another,  amounting  to  a  bitter  satire,  whether  thus 
intended  or  not,  "  the  generals  only  were  got  in 
readiness  ;"  and  the  gallant  marquis  was  compelled 
to  relinquish  the  enterprise,  without,  even  the  poor 
privilege  of  making  an  attempt.  He  certainly  had 
great  reason,  not  only  for  vexation,  but  disgust :  ad 
vised,  as  he  had  been,  to  announce  to  his  court  the 
degree  of  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  Congress, 
in  thus  confiding  to  him  a  separate  command  of 
such  importance ;  not,  of  course,  suspecting,  for  a 
moment,  that  General  Gates  could  be  so  ignorant 
of  the  actual  situation  of  the  department  from  which 
he  had  been  so  recently  transferred. 

The  true  position  of  affairs  at  Albany  having  been 
made  known  to  Congress,  it  was  resolved  to  instruct 
the  marquis  to  suspend  the  expedition,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  assure  him  "  that  Congress  entertained 
a  high  sense  of  his  prudence,  activity,  and  zeal ;  and 
that  they  were  fully  persuaded  nothing  would  have 
been  wanting  on  his  own  part,  or  on  the  part  of  the 
officers  who  accompanied  him,  to  give  the  expedi 
tion  the  utmost  possible  effect." 

But  to  return  to  the  Indian  affairs  of  the  Mohawk 
Valley.  Early  in  the  year,  various  unpleasant  symp 
toms  were  perceptible,  indicating  the  design  of  a  re 
newed  and  more  extensive  Indian  war  than  had  been 
anticipated  at  any  previous  moment.  Information 
was  received  from  the  remote  West  of  a  general 
disposition  among  the  nations  in  the  region  of  the 
great  lakes,  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  to  join  the  Mo 
hawks,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  and  Senecas,  against 
the  United  States.  The  master-spirit  of  those  threat 
ened  movements  was  Joseph  Brant,  whose  winter- 
quarters  were  at  the  central  and  convenient  point  of 
Niagara.  Nor  were  Sir  John  Johnson  and  his  asso 
ciates,  Claus  and  Butler,  inactive ;  while  the  Brit- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  273 

ish  commander  at  Detroit,  Colonel  Hamilton,  was 
.t  the  same  time  exercising  a  powerful  influence 
over  the  surrounding  nations  of  the  forest      On  the 
opening  of  the  year,  therefore,  great  fears  were  en 
tertained  for  the  security  of  the  frontiers  from  the 
Mohawk  to  the  Ohio.     Still,  with  the  Six  Nations 
Congress  resolved  to  make  yet  another  effort  of 
concihation— to  secure  their  neutrality,  if  nothing 
rther.     Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  February,  reso 
lutions  were  passed  directing  a  council  to  be  held 
with  these  nations  at  Johnstown,  in  the  county  of 
liyon.     General  Schuyler   and  Volkert   P    Douw 
were  appointed  commissioners  for  that  purpose,  and 
Governor  Clinton  was  requested  to  designate  a  spe 
cial  commissioner,  to  be  present  on  the  occasion 
In  pursuance  of  this  solicitation,  James  Duane  was 
appointed  for  that  duty.     The  resolutions  of  Co?i! 
gress  instructed  the  commissioners  «  to  speak  to  the 
Indians  in  language  becoming  the  representatives 
ot  Iree,  sovereign,  and  independent  states,  and  in 
such  a  tone  as  would  convince  them  that  they  felt 
themselves  to  be  so."     It  was  left  to  the  discretion 
3f  the  commissioners  to  determine  whether  it  would 
be  prudent  to  insist  upon  their  taking  up  arms  in  be- 
hali  of  the  States,  or  to  content  themselves  with  ef 
forts  to  secure  their  neutrality. 

The  directions  were,  that  the  council  should  be 
holden  between  the  15th  and  20th  of  February  •  but 
so  slow  or  reluctant  were  the  Indians  in  assem- 

nrf'th  oV  f  APrrOCfdingS  were  not  commenced 
until  he  9th  of  March.  Whether  General  Schuyler 
attended  is  not  known.  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
who  was  then  temporarily  in  command  of  the  North 
ern  Department,  accompanied  Mr.  Duane  to  Johns- 

sevVenn  h!!n7aLP1?Serit  at  the  COunciL  More  tha« 
seven  hundred  Indians  were  collected  at  the  treaty 

consisting  of  Oneidas,  Tuscaroras,  Onondagas  a 
few  Mohawks,  and  three  or  four  Cayugas;  but  not 
a  single  Seneca,  which  was  by  far  the  most  power- 


274  BORDER     WARS    OF    THE 

ful  nation.  On  the  contrary,  they  had  the  boldness 
to  send  a  message,  affecting  great  surprise,  "that 
while  our  tomahawks  were  sticking  in  their  heads, 
their  wounds  bleeding,  and  their  eyes  streaming 
with  tears  for  the  loss  of  their  friends  at  German 
Flatts,  the  commissioners  should  think  of  inviting 
them  to  a  treaty !" 

The  proceedings  were  opened  by  an  address  from 
Congress,  framed  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
the  resolutions  already  cited,  asserting  the  power 
of  the  United  States,  and  their  magnanimous  con 
duct  towards  the  Six  Nations  ;  and  charging  them 
distinctly  with  the  ingratitude,  cruelty,  and  treach 
ery  with  which  their  pacific  advances  had  been  re 
quited,  and  for  which  reparation  was  demanded. 
From  this  charge  of  treachery  the  Oneidas  and  Tus- 
caroras  were  not  only  honourably  excepted,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  were  applauded  for  their  firmness  and 
integrity,  and  assured  of  friendship  and  protection. 

An  Onondaga  chief  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  guilty 
tribes.  He  exculpated  himself  and  his  brother  sa 
chems,  casting  the  blame  on  the  young  and  head 
strong  warriors,  who,  he  said,  would  not  listen  to 
prudent  councils,  illustrating  their  own  internal  dif 
ficulties  by  those  occasionally  existing  among  the 
people  of  the  States,  which  it  was,  at  times,  found 
impossible  to  repress.  He  also  spoke  of  the  diffi 
culty  they  were  obliged  to  encounter  in  withstand 
ing  the  influence  of  Butler  and  others  in  the  service 
of  the  crown,  acquired  by  bribery  and  other  kindred 
artifices. 

An  Oneida  chief  answered  for  his  own  nation  and 
the  Tuscaroras,  with  a  spirit  and  dignity  which 
would  not  have  disgraced  a  Roman  senator.  He 
pathetically  lamented  the  degeneracy  of  the  un 
friendly  tribes  ;  predicted  their  final  destruction ; 
and  declared  the  fixed  and  unalterable  resolution  of 
the  tribes  which  he  represented,  at  every  hazard,  to 
hold  fast  the  covenant  chain  with  the  United  States, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  275 

and  be  buried  with  them  in  the  same  grave,  or  with 
them  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  victory  and  peace.  He 
fully  evinced  the  sincerity  of  these  professions,  by 
desiring  that  the  United  States  would  erect  a  for 
tress  in  their  country,  and  station  a  small  garrison 
within  it  for  their  defence.  A  promise  to  this  ef 
fect  having  been  given,  the  Oneida  concluded  with 
a  solemn  assurance  that  the  two  nations  for  whom 
he  spoke  would  at  all  times  be  ready  to  co-operate 
with  the  United  States  against  all  their  enemies. 

In  a  private  interview  afterward,  the  Oneidas 
warned  the  commissioners  against  trusting  to  the 
Onondagas,  whom  they  considered  as  enemies  to 
the  United  States,  notwithstanding  their  seeming 
contrition  for  the  past.  The  Oneidas  declared  that 
they  had  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas  would  renew  their  hostili 
ties  early  in  the  spring ;  that  Colonel  Butler  would 
again  be  in  possession  of  Oswego,  which  he  would 
more  strongly  fortify ;  and  for  these  events  they 
entreated  the  commissioners  to  be  prepared. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tryon  county,  many  of  whom 
were  spectators  at  the  council,  were  highly  gratified 
with  the  proceedings  ;  and  it  was  supposed  that  the 
moral  effect  would  be  good,  not  only  in  regard  to 
the  Oneidas,  but  also  upon  the  Onondagas,  those 
tribes  being  closely  connected  by  intermarriages ; 
but  the  commissioners  left  the  council  under  the  full 
persuasion  that  from  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  Mohawks,  nothing  but  revenge 
for  their  lost  friends  and  tarnished  glory  at  Oriska- 
ny  and  Fort  Schuyler  was  to  be  anticipated ;  more 
especially  since  the  enemy  was  so  plentifully  sup 
plied  with  the  means  of  corruption,  while  it  was  not 
in  the  power  of  the  United  States  so  much  as  to  fur 
nish  their  best  friends  with  the  necessaries  of  life, 
even  in  the  course  of  trade.  Still,  in  order,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  regain  some  of  their  lost  ascendency 
over  the  Indians,  by  means  of  traffic,  the  commia* 


27&  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sioners  of  that  department  were  shortly  afterward 
authorized  by  Congress  to  open  a  trading  establish 
ment  at  Fort  Schuyler.  But  the  inadequacy  of  the 
provision  must  be  evident,  from  the  fact  that  the 
slender  exchequer  of  the  government  allowed  an 
appropriation  of  no  greater  sum  for  that  important 
object  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 

While  at  Johnstown  during  this  visit,  the  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  was  waited  upon  by  Colonel  Campbell 
and  others,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  his  attention 
to  the  exposed  -situation  of  Cherry  Valley.  The 
consequence  was  an  order  for  the  erection  of  a  fort 
at  that  place.  An  engineer  was  detailed  upon  that 
duty,  and  detachments  of  troops  were  ordered  both 
to  that  place  and  Schoharie.  Three  slight  fortifica 
tions  had  been  built  in  the  valley  of  the  Schoharie 
Kill  during  the  preceding  year,  called  the  Upper, 
Middle,  and  Lower  Forts.  These  works  were  mere 
ly  circumvallations  of  earth  and  wood,  thrown  up 
around  some  strong  dwelling-houses  constructed  of 
stone,  within  which  the  women  and  children  were 
placed  in  moments  of  peculiar  danger.  The  church 
was  the  citadel  of  the  Lower  Fort,  and  all  were 
manned  by  small  companies  of  soldiers,  having 
each  a  single  brass  fieldpiece.  The  marquis  like 
wise  directed  the  erection  of  a  fort  in  the  Oneida 
country,  pursuant  to  the  request  of  the  Indians  of 
that  nation. 

It  was  but  too  evident,  from  the  reports  borne 
upon  every  western  breeze,  that  all  these  measures 
of  precaution  in  that  direction  were  necessary.  To 
the  Johnsons  and  their  adherents  the  recovery  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk  was  an  object  of  the  first 
importance ;  and  they  watched  every  opportunity 
of  moving  in  that  quarter  which  promised  even  a 
possible  chance  of  success.  Even  while  the  mar 
quis  was  present  with  the  Indian  commissioners  at 
Johnstown,  no  less  a  personage  than  a  British  colo 
nel,  a  nephew  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  and  bearing  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  277 

same  honourable  name,  was  well  understood  to  be 
lurking  in  that  vicinity  as  a  spy.  Every  effort  was 
made  for  his  arrest ;  and,  as  an  inducement  to  the 
militia  and  Indians  to  be  on  the  alert,  the  marquis 
offered  a  reward  of  fifty  guineas  from  his  own  purse. 

But  the  search  was  fruitless.  Carleton  was  an 
active  and  efficient  partisan  officer,  and  was  never 
taken.  The  marquis  retained  the  command  at  the 
North  only  until  the  middle  of  April,  when  he  was 
ordered  to  headquarters,  and  Gates  again  assumed 
the  command  of  the  department. 

In  the  month  of  June,  the  Loyalists  who  had  fled 
to  Canada  with  Sir  John  Johnson,  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  upward,  performed  an  exploit 
equally  bo-Id  and  remarkable,  which  naturally  sug 
gests  the  inquiry,  Where  were  the  Whigs  of  Tryon 
county  at  that  time ;  and  in  what  were  they  engaged  ? 
The  incident  to  which  reference  is  had  was  the 
return  of  those  selfsame  Loyalists  for  their  fami 
lies,  whom  they  were  permitted  to  collect  together, 
and  with  whom  they  were  suffered  to  depart  into 
the  country,  and  the  active  service  of  the  enemy. 
Nor  was  this  all.  Not  only  was  no  opposition  made 
to  their  proceedings,  but  on  their  way  they  actually 
committed  acts  of  flagrant  hostility,  destroyed  prop 
erty,  and  took  several  prisoners.  Having  com 
pleted  their  arrangements,  they  moved  northward 
from  Fort  Hunter,  through  Fonda's  Bush,  making 
four  prisoners  on  their  way  thither,  and  at  Fonda's 
Bush  five  others.  From  this  place  they  proceeded 
across  the  great  marsh  to  Sir  William  Johnson's 
fish-house,  on  the  Sacondaga,  capturing  a  man 
named  Martin,  and  another  named  Harris,  on  the 
way,  and  at  the  fish-house  taking  a  brave  fellow 
named  Solomon  Woodworth,  and  four  others.  They 
burned  the  house  and  out-buildings  of  Godfrey  Shew 
at  this  place,  and  departed  with  their  prisoners, 
leaving  the  women  and  children  houseless.  Em 
barking  on  the  Sacondaga  in  light  canoes,  previous- 


278  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ly  moored  at  that  place  for  the  purpose,  they  de 
scended  twenty-five  miles  to  the  Hudson,  and  thence, 
by  the  way  of  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  pro 
ceeded  to  St.  John's  in  safety.  The  day  after  his 
capture,  Woodworth  succeeded  in  making  his  es 
cape.  At  St.  John's,  John  Shew  and  four  others 
were  given  up  to  the  Indians,  by  whom  they  were 
taken  to  their  village  in  Canada.  They  were  nei 
ther  considered  nor  treated  exactly  as  prisoners  of 
war ;  and  Shew,  with  three  of  his  companions,  soon 
afterward  escaped  and  returned  home.*  From  St. 
John's  the  loyal  party  proceeded  down  the  St.  Law 
rence  to  Quebec,  where  the  residue  of  the  prison 
ers  were  kept  in  close  confinement  about  four 
months.  Some  of  the  number  died,  and  the  re 
mainder  were  sent  to  Halifax,  and  thence  exchanged 
by  the  way  of  Boston.  This  movement  of  the  Tories 
back  in  a  body  to  their  deserted  homes,  and  its  suc 
cess,  form  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  incidents, 
though  in  itself  comparatively  unimportant,  which 
transpired  during  the  wars  of  the  Mohawk  country. 
With  the  opening  of  the  season  for  active  opera 
tions — though  he  was  himself  never  inactive — Thay- 
endanegea  had  again  returned  to  his  former  haunts 
on  the  Susquehanna,  Oghkwaga  and  Unadilla.  He 
soon  proved  himself  an  active  and  dreaded  partisan. 
No  matter  for  the  difficulties  or  the  distance,  wher 
ever  a  blow  could  be  struck  to  any  advantage,  Jo 
seph  Brant  was  sure  to  be  there.  Frequent,  more 
over,  were  the  instances  in  which  individuals,  and 
even  whole  families  in  the  outskirts  of  the  settle 
ments,  disappeared,  without  any  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  those  who  were  left  that  an  enemy  had 
been  near  them.  "  The  smoking  ruins  of  their 

*  In  the  autumn  of  1780,  young  Shew  was  again  captured  by  a  scout 
ing  party  of  Indians  and  Tories,  in  the  woods  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ballston,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  one  of  the  latter,  named  John  Parker, 
was  immediately  murdered.  Parker  was  himself  soon  afterward  taken 
as  a  spy  by  Captain  Bernett  of  the  militia,  carried  to  Albany,  tried, 
convicted,  and  executed. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  279 

dwellings,  the  charred  bones  of  the  dead,"  and  the 
slaughtered  carcasses  of  the  domestic  animals,  were 
the  only  testimonials  of  the  cause  of  the  catastrophe, 
until  the  return  of  a  captive,  or  the  disclosures  of 
some  prisoner  taken  from  the  foe,  furnished  more 
definite  information.  But  there  is  no  good  evidence 
that  Brant  was  himself  a  participator  in  secret 
murders,  or  attacks  upon  isolated  individuals  or 
families ;  and  there  is  much  reason  to  believe  that 
the  bad  feelings  of  many  of  the  Loyalists  induced 
them  to  perpetrate  greater  enormities  themselves, 
and  prompt  the  parties  of  Indians  whom  they  often 
led  to  commit  greater  barbarities  than  the  savages 
would  have  done  had  they  been  left  to  themselves. 
In  support  of  the  foregoing  opinion  of  Captain 
Brant,  the  following  incident,  occurring  in  the  sum 
mer  of  the  present  year,  may  be  adduced.  A  lad 
in  Albany  county,  named  William  M'Kown,  while 
engaged  in  raking  hay  alone  in  a  meadow,  happen 
ing  to  turn  round,  perceived  an  Indian  very  near 
him.  Startled  at  his  perilous  situation,  he  raised 
his  rake  for  defence,  but  his  fears  were  instantly 
dissipated  by  the  savage,  who  said,  "Do  not  be 
afraid,  young  man  ;  I  shall  not  hurt  you."  He  then 
inquired  of  the  youth  for  the  residence  of  a  Loyal 
ist  named  Foster.  The  lad  gave  him  the  proper 
direction,  and  inquired  of  the  Indian  whether  he 
knew  Mr.  Foster.  "  I  am  partially  acquainted  with 
him,"  was  the  reply,  "having  once  seen  him  at  the 
Half-way  Creek."  The  Indian  then  inquired  the 
lad's  name  ;  and  having  been  informed,  he  added, 
"  You  are  a  son  of  Captain  M'Kown  who  lives  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  town,  I  suppose  :  I  know 
your  father  very  well :  he  lives  neighbour  to  Captain 
M'Kean :  I  know  M'Kean  very  well,  and  a  very  fine 
fellow  he  is,  too."  Imboldened  by  the  familiar 
discourse  of  the  Indian,  the  lad  ventured  to  ask  his 
name  in  turn.  Hesitating  for  a  moment,  his  rather 
unwelcome  visiter  replied,  "My  name  is  Brant!" 


280  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

"What!  Captain  Brant?"  eagerly  demanded  the 
youth.  "  No  :  I  am  a  cousin  of  his,"  was  the  re 
joinder;  but  accompanied  by  a  smile  and  a  look 
that  plainly  disclosed  the  transparent  deception.  It 
was  none  other  than  the  terrible  Thayendanegea 
himself. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  following  tragic  circum 
stance  sustains  the  assertion  that  the  Tories  were 
oftentimes  more  cruel  than  their  savage  associates. 
While  a  party  of  hostiles  were  prowling  about  the 
borders  of  Schoharie,  the  Indians  killed  and  scalped 
a  mother,  and  a  large  family  of  children.  "  They 
had  just  completed  the  work  of  death,  when  some 
Loyalists  of  the  party  came  up,  and  discovered  an 
infant  breathing  sweetly  in  its  cradle.  An  Indian 
warrior,  noted  for  his  barbarity,  approached  the 
cradle  with  his  uplifted  hatchet.  The  babe  looked 
up  in  his  face,  and  smiled ;  the  feelings  of  nature 
triumphed  over  the  ferocity  of  the  savage  ;  the  hatch 
et  fell  with  his  arm,  and  he  was  about  stooping 
down  to  take  the  innocent  in  his  arms,  when  one 
of  the  Loyalists,  cursing  him  for  his  humanity,  thrust 
it  through  with  his  bayonet ;  and,  thus  transfixed, 
held  it  up  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death,  as  he 
exclaimed,  '  This,  too,  is  a  rebel  /'  " 

To  guard  against  these  painful  transactions,  no 
thing  short  of  the  most  exemplary  watchfulness 
would  suffice.  Not  only  their  habitations,  but  those 
who  laboured  in  the  fields,  were  guarded,  being 
themselves  armed  at  their  ploughs,  like  the  labour 
ers  of  the  prophet  in  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jerusa 
lem.  Nor  was  this  vigilance  confined  to  any  par 
ticular  location.  The  inhabitants  around  the  whole 
border,  from  Saratoga,  north  of  Johnstown,  and 
west  to  the  German  Flatts,  thence  south  stretching 
down  to  Unadilla,  and  thence  eastwardly  crossing 
the  Susquehanna,  along  the  Charlotte  River  to  Har- 
persfield,  and  thence  back  to  Albany,  were  neces 
sarily  an  armed  yeomanry,  watching  for  themselves, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  281 

and  standing  sentinels  for  each  other  in  turn ;  har 
assed  daily  by  conflicting  rumours ;  now  admon 
ished  of  the  approach  of  the  foe  in  the  night  by  the 
glaring  flames  of  a  neighbour's  house  ;  or  compelled 
suddenly  to  escape  from  his  approach,  at  a  time 
and  in  a  direction  the  least  expected.  Such  was 
me  tenure  of  human  existence  around  the  confines 
jf  this  whole  district  of  country,  from  the  spring 
«f  1777  to  the  end  of  the  contest  in  1782. 

The  first  movement  of  Brant  himself,  this  season 
(1778),  was  upon  the  settlement  of  Springfield,  a 
small  town  at  the  head  of  Otsego  Lake,  lying  di 
rectly  west "  of  Cherry  Valley,  about  ten  miles. 
Those  of  the  men  who  did  not  fly  were  taken  pris 
oners.  The  chieftain  then  burned  the  entire  settle 
ment,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  house,  into 
which  he  collected  all  the  women  and  children, 
and  left  them  uninjured. 

It  was  reported  in  the  month  of  June  that  Brant, 
whose  forces  were  increasing  at  Unadilla,  was  forti 
fying  that  post ;  and  Captain  M'Kean  was  despatch 
ed  with  a  small  patrol  in  that  direction,  by  the  peo 
ple  of  Cherry  Valley,  to  make  observation.  Ar 
riving  at  a  house  about  twenty-five  miles  from  that 
place,  Captain  M'Kean  was  informed  that  Brant  had 
been  there  with  fifty  men  that  day,  and  would 
probably  return  in  the  evening.  M'Kean  was  at 
first  disposed  to  take  possession  of  the  house,  arid 
attempt  its  defence,  his  force  consisting  of  but  five 
men,  exclusive  of  himself.  But,  ultimately  form 
ing  a  more  prudent  resolution,  he  withdrew  "  his 
forces"  before  nightfall,  and  returned  home  without 
having  reconnoitred  the  chieftain's  position  at  Una 
dilla.  In  the  course  of  his  journey,  he  wrote  a  let 
ter  to  Brant,  upbraiding  him  for  the  predatory  sys 
tem  of  warfare  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  chal 
lenging  him  either  to  single  combat,  or  to  meet  him 
with  an  equal  number  of  men  and  have  a  pitched 
battle  ;  adding,  that  if  he  would  come  to  Cherry 
VOL.  I.—  Y 


282  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Valley,  they  would  change  him  from  a  Brant  to  a 
"goose."  This  chivalrous  missive  was  fastened  to 
a  stick,  and  placed  in  an  Indian  path.  No  modern 
postoffice  could  have  transmitted  the  letter  with 
greater  speed  or  safety.  The  "  contents"  were 
"  noted"  by  Brant  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Par- 
cifer  Carr,  a  Loyalist  living  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  north,  upon  the  Unadilla  settlement,  to  whom 
the  chief  wrote  for  provisions.  He  also  solicited 
Mr.  Carr  to  allow  two  or  three  of  his  men  to  join 
him,  and  likewise  to  send  him  a  few  guns,  with 
some  ammunition ;  adding,  "  I  mean  now  to  fight 
the  cruel  rebels  as  well  as  I  can."  In  a  postscript, 
h*e  intimated  that  the  people  of  Cherry  Valley, 
though  very  bold  in  words,  would  find  themselves 
mistaken  in  calling  him  a  "  goose."  Whether  the 
challenge  of  Captain  M'Kean,  and  the  pun  upon  the 
chieftain's  name,  had  any  influence  upon  his  subse 
quent  conduct  in  that  section  of  the  country,  is  not 
known. 

On  the  2d  of  July  a  smart  engagement  took  place, 
on  the  upper  branch  of  the  Cobleskill,  between  a 
party  of  regular  troops  and  Schoharie  militia  under 
Captain  Christian  Brown,  and  a  large  body  of  In 
dians.  There  were  twenty-two  militiamen  and  thirty 
regulars,  the  latter  under  charge  of  a  lieutenant 
whose  name  has  not  been  preserved.  The  Indians, 
by  their  own  account,  were  four  hundred  and  fifty 
strong.  They  were  victorious,  the  Americans  re 
treating  with  a  loss  of  fourteen  killed,  eight  wound 
ed,  and  two  missing.  The  Indians  burned  several 
houses,  killed  and  destroyed  all  the  horses  and  cat 
tle  which  they  could  not  drive  away,  and  took  con 
siderable  plunder  besides.  They  remained  in  the 
woods  adjoining  the  battle-ground  one  day  and  two 
nights,  dressing  the  wounded,  and  packing  up  their 
booty,  with  which  they  retired  unmolested. 

Thenceforward,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
settlements  of  Schoharie  were  perpetually  harassed 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  283 

by  the  strolling  bands  of  the  enemy,  until  at  length 
they  were  entirely  laid  waste  by  a  formidable  in 
vasion.  The  principal  of  these  settlements  was  the 
vale  of  the  Schoharie  Kill — doubly  inviting  from  the 
beauty  of  its  scenery  and  the  fertility  of  its  soil — 
which  was  even  then  thickly  inhabited.  But  al 
though  frequently  doomed  to  suffer  from  the  savage 
tomahawk,  justice,  nevertheless,  demands  the  ad 
mission,  that  the  first  blood  was  drawn  in  that  val 
ley,  and  the  first  act  of  barbarity  committed,  by  the 
white  man,  upon  the  body  of  an  Indian  sachem. 

The  circumstances  leading  to  the  outrage  were 
these  :  At  an  early  stage  of  the  contest,  the  officers 
of  the  crown  made  a  very  strenuous  effort  to  control 
the  popular  feeling,  and  preserve  the  loyalty  of  the 
people  of  Schoharie.  For  this  purpose,  not  only 
the  regular  militia  of  the  settlements,  but  all  the 
male  population  capable  of  bearing  arms,  were  re 
quired  to  meet  the  king's  commissioners  at  the 
house  of  Captain  George  Mann,  a  Loyalist  of  great 
wealth  and  influence,  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
They  assembled  in  arms,  and  were  kept  on  parade, 
day  after  day,  as  they  slowly  gathered  at  the  place 
of  rendezvous  in  obedience  to  the  requisition. 
Those  who  were  Loyalists  at  heart  readily  took  the 
oath ;  but  great  reluctance  was  manifested  on  the 
part  of  those  whose  predilections  ran  with  the 
Whigs.  These,  however,  were  threatened  with  the 
pains  and  penalties  of  arrest,  confiscation,  and 
death,  in  case  of  refusal ;  so  that  for  the  most  part 
they  complied  with  the  demand  of  the  commission 
ers,  and  took  the  path  of  fidelity  to  the  crown..  Im 
mediately  on  taking  the  oath,  the  hat  of  the  subject 
was  decorated  with  a  piece  of  scarlet  cloth ;  while 
some  of  those  most  strongly  desirous  of  manifesting 
their  loyalty  wore  scarlet  caps.  Prominent  among 
the  latter  class  were  Lodwig  Snyder,  of  the  Danes- 
burg  settlement,  and  a  Mohawk  sachem  named 
Peter  Nickus,  who  gave  offence  to  the  Whigs  by 


284  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

brandishing  his  tomahawk  and  occasionally  sound 
ing  the  war-whoop. 

But  there  were  a  few  bold  spirits  upon  whom  nei 
ther  the  threats  of  his  majesty's  officers  nor  tl  e 
menaces  of  the  Indians  in  their  company  had  any 
effect.  They  refused  peremptorily  to  take  the  oath. 
Chief  among  these  were  Nicholas  Sternberg  and 
William  Deitz,  who  left  the  parade  on  the  evening 
of  the  first  or  second  day,  and  returned  to  their 
homes,  bitterly  denounced  as  rebels  and  traitors  by 
the  Royalists,  and  threatened  with  a  visit  of  Tories 
and  Indians  during  the  night.  To  avoid  an  arrest, 
Sternberg  took  to  the  woods  at  evening,  leaving  his 
family  in  great  anxiety,  although  the  slaves,  of 
whom  he  possessed  a  large  number,  volunteered  to 
defend  their  mistress  and  the  children.  But  there 
was  no  pursuit,  and  the  recusants  both  returned  to 
the  parade  on  the  following  day,  determined,  of 
course,  to  render  all  proper  obedience  to  the  laws 
yet  in  force,  but  equally  determined  not  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance ;  although  Mrs.  Sternberg  be 
sought  her  husband,  with  tears,  not  to  jeopard  his 
own  safety,  and  the  lives  of  his  family,  by  longer 
refusal.  Nay,  she  went  farther ;  and  appealing  to 
the  Bible,  the  good  woman  showed  him  the  passage 
in  which  all  men  are  enjoined  "  to  fear  God  and 
honour  the  king."  But  it  was  with  Sternberg  as 
with  the  Puritans.  He  believed  that  "  opposition 
to  tyrants' was  obedience  to  God,"  as  implicitly  as 
did  the  regicides  who  engraved  that  immortal  senti 
ment  upon  the  New-Haven  rock ;  and  he  was  in 
flexible  in  his  purpose. 

Fortunately,  however,  in  the  course  of  the  day 
affairs  took  quite  a  different  turn.  It  was  at  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon  that  Captain  Mann  mustered 
those  who  had  taken  the  oath  and  received  the  red 
badge.  They  numbered  one  hundred  and  upward, 
and  were  paraded  before  the  captain's  own  house  to 
perform  their  martial  exercise,  when  their  attention 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  285 

was  arrested  by  the  sound  of  steeds  trampling  in  the 
distance.  A  moment  longer,  and  a  cloud  of  horse 
men  came  galloping  along  the  highway  from  the 
direction  of  Albany,  with  drawn  swords  flashing 
brightly  in  the  sun.  These  unexpected  visiters  pro 
ved  to  be  Captain  Woodbake  and  two  hundred  cav 
alry,  the  object  of  whose  approach  was  to  disperse 
the  royal  gathering,  and  proclaim  the  government 
of  the  Republic.  Their  arrival  was  exceedingly  in 
opportune  for  Captain  Mann,  who  was  cut  short  in 
the  midst  of  a  loyal  oration,  in  which  he  was  com 
mending  his  citizen-soldiers  for  their  loyalty,  and 
threatening  those  who  refused  the  badge  of  their 
sovereign  with  vengeance,  swift  and  inevitable.  As 
the  cavalry  approached.  Captain  Mann  took  to  his 
heels  and  fled ;  while  his  loyal  followers,  many  of 
whom  had  assumed  the  before-mentioned  insignia, 
and  signed  the  royal  muster-roll  on  compulsion, 
either  followed  his  example,  or  threw  away  their 
red  caps,  and  tore  off  the  scarlet  patches  from  their 
hats,  with  the  utmost  possible  expedition.  Orders 
were  immediately  issued  by  Captain  Woodbake 
that  Mann  should  be  taken  and  brought  to  him, 
alive,  if  possible,  but  if  not — not.  Numbers  started 
in  pursuit,  while  those  who  remained  upon  the 
ground  were  collected  into  line,  and  a  proclamation 
was  read  to  them  by  Captain  Woodbake,  declaring 
the  royal  authority  at  an  end,  pronouncing  the  acts 
of  the  king's  commissioners  null  and  void,  and  ab 
solving  the  people  from  the  oath  of  allegiance  just 
taken,  upon  the  ground  that,  by  the  laws  neither  of 
God  nor  man,  are  oaths  binding  which  have  been 
taken  upon  compulsion.  Commending  those  who 
had  refused  to  take  the  oath  for  their  patriotism,  he 
informed  them  that  a  committee  of  safety  must  be 
appointed,  who  would  temporarily  be  invested  with 
the  civil  and  military  authority  of  the  district,  and 
until,  by  elections  and  otherwise,  the  government 
could  be  organized  in  a  more  regular  manner.  Nich- 


286  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

olas  Sternberg  and  William  Deitz  were  thereupon 
nominated  by  Woodbake  to  serve  as  said  commit 
tee,  and  invested  orally  with  all  necessary  power 
for  the  government  of  the  district  ;  and  the  people 
were  enjoined  to  obedience. 

The  affairs  of  the  government  having  thus  been 
settled,  all  hands  were  ordered  in  pursuit  of  Cap 
tain  Mann,  and  sentinels  were  posted  at  different 
points  of  observation.  Among  these  was  Mr.  Stern- 
berg's  eldest  son,  Lambert,  who  was  stationed  by 
the  side  of  a  wheat-stack,  sheltered  by  a  roof  of 
thatch  upon  four  posts.  The  orders  were  strict, 
that,  if  Mann  would  not  surrender,  he  must  be  shot. 
Towards  evening,  on  the  approach  of  a  thunder- 
gust,  young  Sternberg,  who  was  a  lad  of  only  six 
teen  years,  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  wheat-stack 
for  shelter,  where,  to  his  great  surprise,  he  stumbled 
upon  the  loyal  captain.  The  youth  informed  him  at 
once  that  he  must  surrender  or  be  shot.  The  cap 
tain  implored  for  mercy,  declaring  that  he  dared  not 
to  surrender  himself  to  Woodbake,  because  his  life 
would  be  taken.  The  youth  repeated  that  his  orders 
were  explicit,  and  he  must  surrender  or  be  shot. 
But  Mann  had  lived  a  neighbour  to  his  father,  had 
ever  been  kind  to  him,  and  his  heart  failed  at  the 
thought  of  taking  his  life.  He  then  proposed  to  the 
captain  to  fire  his  musket  by  way  of  alarm,  that  oth 
ers  might  come  and  take  him.  But  this  was  object 
ed  to  by  Mann  with  equal  earnestness.  It  now 
thundered  and  lightened  fearfully,  while  the  rain 
descended  in  torrents.  Watching  his  opportunity, 
therefore,  and  availing  himself  of  the  conflict  of  the 
elements,  and  that,  also,  which  was  working  in  the 
bosom  of  his  young  neighbour,  so  suddenly  placed 
in  hostile  array  against  him,  Mann  contrived  to 
spring  from  his  hiding-place,  and,  by  sliding  down 
upon  one  of  the  barrack-posts,  effected  his  escape 
into  a  corn-field,  and  thence  into  the  woods.  The 
stripling  soldier  fired,  as  in  duty  bound,  but  doubt 
less  rejoiced  that  the  shot  was  without  effect. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  287 

On  the  next  day,  information  having  been  receiv 
ed  that  a  body  of  Indians  were  lurking  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  Middle  burg",  a  few  miles  farther  up  the 
valley,  Captain  Woodbake  proceeded  thither  with 
his  squadron  of  horse.  The  only  Indian  seen  was 
the  before- mentioned  sachem,  Peter  Nickus,  who 
was  discovered  in  a  thicket  of  hazel  bushes,  and 
immediately  brought  to  the  ground  by  a  shot  that 
broke  his  thigh.  Several  pistols  were  simultane 
ously  snapped  at  him,  but  without  effect ;  the  troops 
then  dismounted,  and,  running  upon  the  wounded  In 
dian,  inhumanly  hacked  him  to  pieces  with  their 
swords.  Peter  Nickus  was  therefore  the  first  vie 
tim  of  the  Revolution  in  the  Valley  of  the  Scho- 
harie  Kill,  nor  does  it  appear  that  he  had  himself 
been  guilty  of  any  act  of  positive  hostility. 

All  search  for' Captain  Mann  was,  for  the  time, 
fruitless.  He  succeeded  in  escaping  to  the  mount 
ains,  where  he  remained  fifteen  days  ;  but  at  length 
was  induced  to  surrender  through  the  intervention 
of  friends,  on  condition  that  he  should  receive  no 
personal  injury.  He  was  thereupon  taken  to  Alba 
ny,  and  kept  in  confinement  to  the  end  of  the  war 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  melancholy  story  of  Wyoming  stands  next 
in  chronological  order.  It  does  not,  indeed,  apper 
tain  directly  to  the  history  of  the  Mohawk  Valley, 
but  it  is,  nevertheless,  connected  intimately  with 
that  history,  while  it  has  ever  been  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  prominent  events  in  the  border  history 
of  the  Revolutionary  contest.  Its  importance,  more 
over,  as  a  section  of  the  Indian  portion  of  that  con 
test,  is  such  as  to  warrant  the  episode,  if  such  it 


288  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

must  be  called.  Many  were  the  battles,  during  that 
struggle,  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  affair 
of  Wyoming,  both  in  regard  to  their  magnitude  and 
their  results  ;  and  many  were  the  scenes  character 
ized  by  equal,  if  not  greater  atrocity.  But,  from  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  as  well  antecedent  as  sub 
sequent  to  the  battle,  it  has  happened  that  no  event 
connected  with  the  aboriginal  wars  of  our  country 
stands  out  in  bolder  relief  than  that.  Sixty  years 
have  elapsed  since  the  tragedy  of  Wyoming  was  en 
acted  ;  the  actors  themselves  are  no  more  ;  and  yet 
the  very  mention  of  the  event  sends  a  chill  current 
to  every  youthful  heart,  while  the  theatre  of  the  ac 
tion  itself  has  been  rendered  classic,  as  well  as  con 
secrated,  by  the  undying  numbers  of  one  of  the  most 
gifted  bards  of  the  age.  So  long  as  English  poetry 
exists,  will  the  imaginary  tale  of  GERTRUDE  OF  WY 
OMING  be  read,  admired,  and  wept ;  and  thousands, 
in  every  generation  to  come,  will  receive  the  beau 
tiful  fiction  for  truth,  while  the  details  of  fact  by  the 
faithful  historian,  rejecting  the  exaggerations  of 
Ramsay  and  Gordon,  and  their  associate  writers 
of  the  Revolutionary  era,  together  with  compilers 
more  modern,  who  have  taken  no  pains  to  inquire 
for  the  truth,  may  be  regarded  as  too  commonplace 
and  unimportant  for  attention. 

Wyoming  is  the  name  of  a  beautiful  section  of 
the  vale  of  the  Susquehanna,  situated  in  the  north 
eastern  part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is 
twenty-five  miles  in  length  by  about  three  in  breadth, 
lying  deep  between  two  parallel  ranges  of  mount 
ains,  crested  with  oak  and  pine.  The  scenery 
around  is  wild  and  picturesque,  while  the  valley  it 
self  might  be  chosen  for  another  paradise. 

The  possession  of  this  valley  has  not  been  an  ob 
ject  of  the  white  man's  ambition  or  cupidity  alone. 
It  has  been  the  subject  of  controversy,  and  the  fierce 
battle-ground  of  various  Indian  tribes,  within  the 
white  man's  time,  but  before  his  possession ;  and 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  289 

from  the  remains  of  fortifications  discovered  there, 
so  ancient  that  the  largest  oaks  and  pines  have 
struck  root  upon  the  ramparts  and  in  the  intrench- 
ments,  it  must  once  have  been  the  seat  of  power, 
and  perhaps  of  a  splendid  court,  thronged  by  chival 
ry,  and  taste,  and  beauty  :  of  a  race  of  men  far  dif 
ferent  from  the  Indians,  known  to  us  since  the  dis 
covery  of  Columbus.  It  was  here  that  the  benevo 
lent  Count  Zinzendorf  pitched  his  tent  on  commen 
cing  his  Christian  labours  among  the  Shav/anese, 
and  where  he  was  saved  from  assassination  by  the 
providential  intervention  of  a  poisonous  reptile. 

The  first  movement  towards  the  planting  of  a 
white  colony  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  was  made  by 
Connecticut  in  1753.  It  was  justly  held  that  this 
section  of  country  belonged  originally  to  the  grant 
of  James  I.,  in  1620,  to  the  old  Plymouth  Company. 
The  Earl  of  Warwick  and  his  associates  having  pur 
chased  the  right  of  the  Plymouth  Company  to  the 
territory  of  Connecticut  and  the  lands  beyond  New- 
Jersey,  west,  "  from  sea  to  sea,"  within  certain  lim 
its,  Connecticut  claimed  under  that  grant.  But  no 
sooner  was  a  company  formed  to  plant  a  colony  in 
Wyoming,  called  the  Susquehanna  Company,  than 
Pennsylvania  preferred  a  claim  to  the  same  territo 
ry,  under  a  grant  from  Charles  II.  to  William  Penn, 
in  1681,  covering  the  whole  claim  of  Connecticut; 
and  a  rival  association,  under  a  lease  from  Pennsyl 
vania,  granted  to  Charles  Stewart,  Amos  Ogden,  and 
John  Jennings,  was  organized  in  like  manner  to  set 
tle  it.  The  strife  of  each,  at  first,  was  to  circum 
vent  the  other  in  purchasing  the  Indian  title.  At 
this  time  it  was  conceded  that  the  aboriginal  pro 
prietaries  were  the  Six  Nations ;  and,  though  beset 
on  all  sides,  King  Hendric  refused,  for  a  time,  to 
dispose  of  the  territory  to  either  party.  Ultimate 
ly,  however,  the  Six  Nations  sold  to  the  Susquehan 
na  Company;  and  in  1755  the  Connecticut  Colony 
was  commenced.  But,  by  reason  of  the  French  and 

VOL.  L—7, 


290  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Indian  wars,  their  settlers  were  compelled  to  re* 
turn  to  Connecticut,  and  the  obstacles  became  so 
numerous,  that  it  was  not  until  1762  that  they  were 
enabled  to  obtain  a  foothold. 

The  Pennsylvanians  immediately  prepared  to  op 
pose  the  settlers  from  Connecticut.  A  case  was 
made  up  and  transmitted  to  England,  on  which  Mr. 
Pratt,  the  attorney-general  (afterward  Lord  Cam- 
den),  gave  an  opinion  in  favour  of  the  successors  of 
Penn.  Connecticut  likewise  sent  over  a  case,  and 
on  her  part  obtained  a  like  favourable  opinion  from 
eminent  counsel.  In  this  position  of  the  controver 
sy,  a  catastrophe  befell  the  infant  settlement  which 
put  an  end  to  the  enterprise  for  several  years. 
Thus  far  the  relations  between  the  colonists  and 
the  Indians  had  been  of  the  most  pacific  character. 
The  old  Delaware  chief,  Tadeuskund,  who  had  em 
braced  the  Christian  religion,  was,  with  his  people, 
their  friend.  But  he  had  given  offence  to  some  of 
the  Six  Nations  in  1758,  a  party  of  whom  came 
among"  the  Delawares,  under  the  guise  of  friendship, 
in  April,  1763,  and  murdered  the  venerable  chief  by 
setting  fire  to  his  dwelling,  in  which  he  was  con 
sumed.*  The  murder  was  charged  by  the  Indians 
upon  the  adventurers  from  Connecticut.  But  the 
emigrants,  unconscious  that  a  storm  was  rising 
against  them,  remained  in  fancied  security.  They 
had  given  no  offence  ;  and,  in  order  to  allay  any  sus 
picions  that  might  otherwise  be  awakened  among 
the  Indians,  they  had  even  neglected  to  provide 
themselves  with  weapons  for  self-protection.  The 
consequence  was  the  sudden  destruction  of  their 

*  Tadeuskund  was  a  Delaware  chief  of  note.  Previous  to  the  year 
1750,  he  was  known  among'  the  English  by  the  name  of  Honest  John. 
He  was  baptized  by  the  Moravians,  but  was  wavering1  and  inconstant. 
He  was  too  fond  of  the  war-path  to  become  a  consistent  follower  of  the 
pacific  Moravians.  When  he  saw  opportunities  of  signalizing  himself  as 
a  warrior,  therefore,  he  left  his  faith,  to  re-embrace  it  as  might  suit  his 
policy.  He  inclined  to  the  French  in  the  war,  but  assisted  in  conclu 
ding-  a  peace  among  several  Indian  nations  in  1758,  which  gave  um 
brage  to  the  Six  Nations. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  291 

settlement  by  a  party  of  Delaware  Indians,  on  the 
15th  of  October,  The  descent  was  made  upon  the 
town  while  the  men  were  at  work  in  the  fields. 
About  twenty  persons  were  killed,  and  several  were 
taken  prisoners.  Those  who  could,  men,  women, 
and  children,  fled  to  the  woods  and  the  mountains, 
whence  they  were  compelled  to  behold  the  sad 
spectacle  of  their  dwellings  in  flames,  and  the  Indi 
ans  making  off  with  the  remains  of  their  little  prop 
erty.  Their  flight  through  a  trackless  forest  to  the 
Delaware,  unprovided  with  food,  and  unprotected 
by  suitable  clothing  against  the  searching  weather 
of  autumn,  was  very  painful.  But  even  then  their 
journey  was  not  ended,  as  they  had  yet  to  proceed 
back  to  Connecticut,  destitute,  and  on  foot. 

In  1668  the  Pennsylvania  lessees,  afterward  most 
commonly  called  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  took 
advantage  of  a  treaty  holden  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and 
purchased  of  the  same  Six  Nations,  who  had  sold  to 
the  Connecticut  Company,  the  same  territory  of 
Wyoming.  The  Pennsylvanians  entered  upon  im 
mediate  possession  ;  and  when,  on  the  opening  of 
the  ensuing  spring,  the  Connecticut  colonists  re 
turned  with  recruits,  they  found  others  in  the  occu 
pancy  of  the  lands,  with  a  blockhouse  erected,  and 
armed  for  defence,  under  the  direction  of  Amos  Og 
den  and  Charles  Stewart.  Here  was  a  new  and  un 
expected  state  of  things.  Some  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  Connecticut  colony  were  decoyed  into  the 
blockhouse,  arrested,  and  sent  off  to  a  distant  prison. 
But  recruits  coming  on  from  Connecticut,  they,  in 
turn,  built  works  of  defence,  and  proceeded  with 
their  colonial  labours. 

In  the  summer  of  1769,  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl 
vania  made  preparations  to  dispossess  the  intruders, 
as  they  considered  the  Connecticut  people,  by  force  ; 
and  a  detachment  of  armed  men,  to  the  number  of 
two  hundred,  was  sent  into  the  territory.  The  col 
onists  prepared  for  a  siege  ;  but  one  of  their  leaders 


292  BORDER    WARS    OP    THE 

having  been  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  jail  in  Phil 
adelphia,  after  a  show  of  resistance,  and  having  no 
weapons  of  defence  but  small  arms,  they  capitula 
ted,  and  agreed  to  leave  the  territory,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  seventeen  families,  who  were  to  remain 
and  Secure  the  crops.  But  no  sooner  had  the  colo 
nists  departed,  than  the  Pennsylvanians,  led  by  Og- 
den,  plundered  the  whole  colony,  destroying  their 
fields  of  grain,  killing  their  cattle,  and  laying  the 
whole  settlement  in  ruin  ;  so  that  the  seventeen 
families  were  compelled  to  fly  from  starvation. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1770,  the  Connecticut 
colonists  rallied,  and  marched  upon  Wyoming,  un 
der  a  man  named  Lazarus  Stewart.  They  took 
Ogden's  house  and  his  piece  of  artillery,  during  his 
absence.  But,  on  his  return,  he  collected  his  friends, 
and  hostilities  ensued  between  the  two  parties, 
which  were  prosecuted  with  varying  success  for 
several  weeks.  During  this  time,  an  engagement 
occurred,  in  which  several  were  killed  and  wounded 
on  both  sides.  Ogden's  house,  which  had  been  for 
tified,  was  besieged,  and  finally  taken,  after  several 
days'  cannonading,  and  the  destruction  of  one  of  his 
blockhouses,  containing  his  supplies,  by  fire.  In 
the  terms  of  capitulation,  the  Connecticut  party  al 
lowed  Ogden  to  leave  six  men  in  charge  of  his  re 
maining  property.  But  the  conduct  of  Ogden  the 
preceding  year  had  not  been  forgotten,  and  the  lex 
talionis  was  rigidly  and  speedily  executed. 

In  September  following,  a  force  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  was  sent  against  the  Connecticut  set 
tlers,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Ogden,  as  he 
was  now  called.  He  took  the  settlement  entirely 
by  surprise,  while  the  labourers  were  in  the  fields 
at  work,  and  the  women  and  children  in  the  fort. 
Many  of  the  men,  nevertheless,  reached  the  fort, 
and  prepared  to  defend  it ;  but  it  was  carried  by  as 
sault  in  the  night ;  the  women  and  children  were 
barbarously  trampled  under  foot,  and  the  whole  set- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION,  293 

tlement  plundered  and  destroyed  the  following  day, 
with  more  than  Indian  rapacity.  The  colonists 
were  made  prisoners,  and  sent  off  to  distant  jails. 
Thus  was  the  settlement  again  broken  up.  But  the 
triumph  of  Ogden  was  brief.  In  December  the  fort 
was  again  surprised  and  carried  by  Captain  Stewart, 
at  the  head  of  some  Lancastrians  united  with  the 
late  colonists.  A  few  of  the  men  fled  naked  to  the 
woods ;  but  the  greater  portion,  together  with  the 
women  and  children,  residing  for  security  in  houses 
built  within  the  ramparts,  were  taken  prisoners. 
These,  having  been  deprived  of  their  property,  were 
driven  from  the  valley. 

The  parties  to  these  controversies,  which  could 
not  but  engender  all  the  bitterest  passions  in  the 
nature  of  man,  rendering  what  might  have  been  a 
second  Eden  a  theatre  of  strife,  discord,  and  "  hell- 
born  hate,"  fought,  of  course,  as  they  pretended, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  respective  states  to 
which  they  assumed  to  belong.  The  civil  authori 
ties  of  Pennsylvania  frequently  interposed ;  and 
after  the  burning  of  Ogden's  blockhouse,  attempts 
were  made  to  arrest  several  of  the  Connecticut 
party  for  arson.  Stewart  was  apprehended,  but  was 
soon  afterward  rescued. 

After  the  capture  of  the  fort  in  December,  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  once  more  issued  a 
writ  for  his  arrest,  and  the  sheriff  was  sent  with  the 
posse  at  his  heels  ;  but  the  garrison  would  not  admit 
him.  The  fort  was  fired  upon  by  the  posse,  under 
the  direction  of  the  sheriff,  and  in  returning  the  fire, 
one  of  the  Ogdens  (Nathan)  was  killed.  The  sheriff 
thereupon  drew  off  his  forces  for  the  night.  But  it 
was  no  sooner  dark,  than  Stewart  and  forty  of  his 
men  withdrew  from  the  fortress,  leaving  a  garrison 
of  only  twelve  persons,  who  capitulated  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning.  Three  hundred  pounds  reward 
was  offered  by  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  for 
the  arrest  of  Stewart.  The  fort  was  left  in  charge 


294  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

of  Amos  Ogden,  who  induced  most  of  his  former  as 
sociates  to  return  with  him. 

In  July  following,  this  important  post  was  again 
doomed  to  change  hands.    The  colony  was  invaded 
by  Captain  Zebulon  Butler,  with  upward  of  seventy 
men      These  being  joined  by  Lazarus  Stewart  and 
his  party,  they  immediately  took  possession  ot  the 
lands,  while  Ogden  with  his  people,  to  the  number 
of  eighty-two,  retired  into  the  new  fort  of  Wyoming, 
which  they  had  just  built,  and  prepared  for  resist 
ance      The  contest  was  now  assuming  greater  im 
portance  than  ever.     Butler  and  Stewart  at  once 
invested  the  fortress,  and,  recruits  arriving  from 
Connecticut,  they  were   enabled  to  throw  up  re 
doubts,  and  open  intrenchments  for  a  regular  siege. 
This  new  fort  was  planted  directly  upon  the  bank 
of  the  river.     Perceiving  himself  thus  completely 
shut  in,  Ogden  formed  the  bold  design  of  leaving 
his  garrison  in  the  night,   and  floating  down  the 
river  past  the  works  and  the  sentinels  of  the  enemy, 
in  order  to  repair  to  Philadelphia  for  succours.    I  or 
the  purpose  of  better  securing  his  escape,  by  means 
of  a  cord  he  caused  a  bundle  to  be  floated  along  in 
the  river  following  him,  which,  being  the  most  per 
ceptible  object,  would  naturally  attract  the  attention 
and  receive  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  if  discovered. 
The  ruse  was  completely  successful.     The  decep 
tive  object  did  attract  the  attention  of  the  besiegers, 
and  received  their  fire  ;  although  Ogden  himself  was 
in  immediate  peril,  since  his  hat  and  clothes  were 
riddled  with  bullets.     He  nevertheless  escaped  to 
Philadelphia,  and  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  per 
forming  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  difficult  individ 
ual  exploits  on  record. 

In  consequence  of  these  tidings,  the  government 
ordered  a  force  of  one  hundred  men  to  be  sent  to  the 
relief  of  Fort  Wyoming,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Asher  Clayton.  These  were  to  be  separated  into 
two  divisions,  and  marched  to  the  fort  from  differ- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  295 

eat  directions.  Captain  Dick,  with  one  division, 
proceeded  towards  the  fort  with  pack-horses  of  pro 
visions  for  one  hundred  men.  When  in  its  neigh 
bourhood,  however,  he  was  ambuscaded  by  the  troops 
of  Butler  and  Stewart,  and  thrown  into  confusion  by 
the  fire.  Twenty-two  of  the  party  succeeded  in  get 
ting1  into  the  fort,  and  the  remainder,  with  four  pack- 
horses  of  provisions,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Butler. 
The  siege  continued,  and  was  prosecuted  with  great 
vigour  until  the  14th  of  August,  when,  his  supplies 
being  exhausted,  Colonel  Clayton,  the  assailant,  ca 
pitulated,  stipulating  that  his  troops,  together  with 
Ogden  and  his  party,  should  withdraw  from  Wyo 
ming.  Ogden  was  wounded  during  the  siege,  and 
a  second  shot  killed  another  officer,  named  Wil 
liam  Ridyard,  upon  whom  the  former  was  leaning, 
being  faint  from  loss  of  blood. 

The  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  proprietaries 
complained  of  the  conduct  of  the  Connecticut  peo 
ple  in  these  hostilities,  and  Governor  Trumbull  dis 
claimed  any  connexion  with  the  affairs  of  Wyo 
ming  on  the  part  of  the  state  over  which  he  presided. 
But  as  the  Connecticut  people  continued  to  pour 
re-enforcements  into  the  settlement,  the  Pennsylva- 
nians  withdrew  their  forces,  and,  for  a  season,  made 
no  farther  attempts  upon  the  territory. 

The  settlers  now  claimed  the  protection  of  Con 
necticut,  the  government  of  which  attempted  a 
mediation  between  the  people  of  Wyoming  and  the 
government  of  Pennsylvania,  but  without  success. 
Meantime,  the  people  of  the  colony  proceeded  to 
organize  a  government,  and  to  exercise  almost  all 
the  attributes  of  sovereignty.  The  general  laws  of 
Connecticut  were  declared  to  be  in  force ;  but  for 
their  local  legislation,  they  organized  a  pure  democ 
racy  ;  the  people  of  all  their  towns  and  settlements 
meeting  in  a  body,  as  in  Athens  of  old,  and  making 
their  laws  for  themselves.  The  Legislature  of  Con 
necticut  extended  its  broad  aegis  over  them,  framed 


296  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

a  new  county,  called  Westmoreland,  and  attached 
it  to  the  county  of  Litchfield  in  the  parent  state. 
Zebulon  Butler  and  Nathan  Denniston  were  ap 
pointed  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  people  sent 
one  representative  to  the  Legislature  of  Connecti 
cut.  The  governments  of  Connecticut  and  Penn 
sylvania  kept  up  a  war  of  proclamations  and  edicts 
upon  the  subject,  while  the  settlement  advanced  in 
population  and  extent  with  unexampled  rapidity. 

Thus  matters  proceeded  until  the  year  1775,  when, 
just  after  hostilities  had  been  commenced  between 
the  colonies  and  the  British  troops  at  Lexington,  the 
old  feuds  between  the  settlers  of  the  rival  compa 
nies  suddenly  broke  forth  again.  A  new  settlement 
of  the  one  was  attacked  by  the  militia  of  the  other, 
one  man  was  killed,  several  were  wounded,  and 
others  made  prisoners,  and  carried  off  to  a  distant 
jail.  Other  outrages  were  committed  elsewhere, 
and  of  course  all  the  angry  passions,  all  the  bitter 
feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge,  between  the  rival 
parties  claiming  the  soil  and  the  jurisdiction,  brokt> 
out  afresh.  The  settlements  of  each  had  become 
extended  during  the  five  years  of  peace,  which,  of 
course,  had  multiplied  the  parties  to  the  contest ;  so 
that,  as  the  men  of  Wyoming  flew  to  arms,  a  more 
formidable  civil  war  than  ever  was  in  prospect,  at 
the  moment  when  every  arm  should  have  been 
nerved  in  the  common  cause  of  the  whole  country.* 

Congress  being  now  in  session,  interposed  its  au 
thority  by  way  of  mediatorial  resolutions ;  but  to 
no  purpose.  The  interposition  was  repeated,  and 
again  disregarded.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Pennsylva- 
nians  brought  seven  hundred  men  into  the  field,  who 
were  marched  against  Wyoming  under  the  direction 


*  At  this  time  the  settlements  consisted  of  eight  townships,  viz. : 
Lackawana,  Exeter,  Kingston,  Wilksbarre,  Plymouth,  Nanticoke,  Hunt- 
ingtou,  and  Salem,  each  containing  five  miles  square.  The  six  town 
ships  were  pretty  full  of  inhabitants  ;  the  two  upper  ones  had  compara 
tively  few,  thinly  scattered. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  297 

of  Colonel  Plunkett.  But  in  ascending  the  west 
bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  on  coming  to  a  narrow 
defile,  naturally  defended  by  a  rocky  buttress,  their 
march  was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  volley  of  mus 
ketry.  An  instant  afterward  the  invaders  discerned 
that  the  rocky  parapets  were  covered  with  men 
bristling  in  arms,  prepared  for  a  Tyrolese  defence 
of  tumbling  rocks  down  upon  the  foe,  should  their 
fire-arms  prove  insufficient  to  repel  him.  Taken 
thus  suddenly  and  effectively  by  surprise,  Plunkett 
retreated  with  his  forces  behind  a  point  of  rocks,  for 
consultation.  He  next  attempted  to  cross  the  river, 
and  resume  his  march  on  the  other  side.  But  here, 
too,  the  people  of  Wyoming  had  been  too  quick  for 
him.  The  invaders  were  so  hotly  received  by  a  de 
tachment  in  ambuscade  on  the  other  side,  that  they 
were  constrained  to  retreat,  nor  did  they  attempt  to 
rally  again. 

Thus  terminated  the  last  military  demonstration 
of  the  provincial  government  of  Pennsylvania 
against  the  Valley  of  Wyoming,  previous  to  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  Never,  however,  had  a  civil  war 
raged  with  more  cordial  hatred  between  the  par 
ties,  not  even  during  the  bloody  conflicts  between 
the  Guelphs  and  the  Ghibellines,  than  was  felt  be 
tween  the  adherents  of  the  respective  land  compa 
nies,  in  the  collisions  just  passed  under  review. 
Most  unfortunate  was  it,  therefore,  that  the  quarrel 
broke  out  afresh  at  the  precise  moment  when  the 
services  of  all  were  alike  wanted  for  the  common 
defence,  especially  on  a  border  exposed  to  the  daily 
irruptions  of  the  Indians. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  evil.  There  being  a  wide 
difference  of  opinion  between  the  people  in  almost 
every  section  of  the  country  on  the  great  question 
at  issue  between  the  parent  country  and  the  colo 
nies,  it  was  natural  to  anticipate  that  such  of  these 
contending  parties  as  adhered  to  the  Royalist  cause, 
would  cherish  a  twofold  enmity  towards  those  Re- 


298  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

publicans  who  had  been  previously  in  arms  against 
them.  These  feelings  of  hostility  were  of  course 
mutual ;  and,  as  many  of  the  adherents  of  the  Dela 
ware  Company,  and  perhaps  some  from  both  fac 
tions,  early  escaped  to  the  enemy,  and  enrolled 
themselves  under  the  banners  of  Sir  John  Johnson 
and  Colonel  John  Butler,  there  can  be  no  difficulty 
in  accounting  for  the  peculiar  ferocity  which  marked 
the  conduct  of  such  of  the  refugees  as  returned  in 
arms  against  their  former  belligerant  neighbours. 

The  population  of  the  Wyoming  settlements,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  numbered  five  thou 
sand  souls.  Three  companies  of  regular  troops 
were  enlisted  among  them  for  the  service  of  the 
United  States.  Their  militia,  regularly  enrolled, 
amounted  to  eleven  hundred  men  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  and  of  this  force  three  hundred  entered  the 
army ;  so  -prolific  was  their  soil,  and  so  industrious 
were  the  people,  that  they  were  enabled  to  furnish 
large  supplies  of  provisions  for  the  army.  Three 
thousand  bushels  of  grain  were  sent  in  the  spring 
of  the  present  year.  The  same  plan  of  watchful 
ness  against  the  scouts  and  scalping  parties  of  the 
enemy  was  adopted  as  in  other  frontier  settlements, 
and  the  utmost  vigilance  was  observed ;  while  reg 
ular  garrison  duty  was,  in  successive  turns,  per 
formed  by  the  citizen  soldiers  in  the  several  fortifi 
cations  which  defended  their  valley. 

Some  faint  demonstrations  were  made  by  strag 
gling  parties  of  Tories  and  Indians,  who  prowled 
about  the  settlements  during  the  summer  of  the 
preceding  year,  while  St.  Leger  was  besieging  Fort 
Schuyler;  but  after  a  few  skirmishes  with  the  in 
habitants  they  dispersed,  and  the  latter  remained 
undisturbed  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  Still,  an 
impression  that  some  of  the  Tories  who  had  been 
in  arms  against  them,  or  who  had  been  instrumental 
in  bringing  the  Indians  upon  them,  were  yet  lurking 
in  the  vicinity,  and  bent  upon  mischief,  left  the  peo- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  299 

pie  not  altogether  at  ease ;  and  in  the  month  of 
January,  1778,  twenty-seven  suspected  inhabitants 
were  arrested.  Nine  of  these  were  discharged,  on 
examination,  for  want  of  sufficient  evidence  to  war 
rant  their  detention  ;  while  the  remaining  eighteen 
were  sent  to  Hartford  in  Connecticut,  and  im 
prisoned.  The  nine  who  were  first  discharged  im 
mediately  fled  to  the  enemy,  and  were  followed 
thither  by  such  of  their  suspected  associates  as 
were  subsequently  set  at  liberty  in  Connecticut. 
It  was  but  natural  that  these  proceedings  still  more 
imbittered  the  feelings  of  these  Loyalists  against 
the  Whigs,  and  the  effect  was  soon  perceptible  in 
the  behaviour  of  the  Tories  and  Indians  occasion 
ally  patrolling  their  borders. 

For  a  time,  however,  the  apprehensions  thus  ex 
cited  were  allayed  by  several  pacific  messages  from 
the  Indian  nations  deeper  in  the  interior,  who  sent 
parties  of  runners  with  assurances  of  a  desire  for 
peace.  But  these  assurances  were  deceptive.  In 
stead  of  being  messengers  of  peace,  it  was  ascer 
tained  in  March,  from  one  of  them  while  in  a  state 
of  intoxication,  that  their  business  was  to  amuse 
the  people  and  allay  their  fears  while  preparations 
were  making  to  attack  them.  This  Indian,  with 
his  associate  warriors,  was  immediately  arrested 
and  placed  in  confinement,  while  the  women  of  the 
party  were  sent  back  with  a  flag.  The  alarm  was 
likewise  given  to  the  scattered  and  remote  settlers, 
some  of  them  living  thirty  miles  up  the  river,  who 
thereupon  immediately  sought  for  greater  security 
in  the  more  populous  towns.  During  the  months 
of  April  and  May,  the  settlements  began  to  be  more 
considerably  annoyed  by  larger  parties  of  Tories 
and  Indians,  who  hung  upon  their  borders,  and  made 
frequent  incursions  among  them  for  purposes  of 
plunder,  robbing  the  people,  as  opportunity  afford 
ed,  of  live-stock,  grain,  and  other  articles  of  pro 
visions.  Waxing  yet  more  audacious  in  June,  sev- 


300  BORDERS    WARS    OF    THE 

eral  murders  were  committed.  Six  of  these  victims 
were  a  mother  and  her  five  children,  who  were 
doubtless  killed  under  a  misapprehension  as  to  her 
character,  since  the  woman  was  the  wife  of  one 
of  the  Tories  who  had  been  arrested  in  January. 
The  houses  and  plantations  of  the  slain  were,  of 
C3iirse,  plundered  of  everything  of  value  which  the 
marauders  could  carry  away. 

Towards  the  close  of  June,  the  British  officers  in 
command  at  Niagara  determined  to  strike  a  blow 
upon  these  settlements ;  for  which  purpose  about 
three  hundred  white  men,  consisting  in  part  of  regu 
lar  troops,  but  principally  of  refugee  Loyalists,  un 
der  the  command  of  Colonel  John  Butler,  together 
with  about  five  hundred  Indians,  chiefly  Senecas, 
under  a  celebrated  war  chief  named  Gi-en-gwah-toh 
(He-who-goes-in-the-smoke),  marched  in  that  direc 
tion.  Arriving  at  Tioga  Point,  Butler  and  the  In 
dian  leaders  procured  floats  and  rafts,  upon  which 
they  embarked  their  forces  ;  and,  descending  the 
Susquehanna,  landed  at  a  place  called  the  Three 
Islands,  whence  they  marched  about  twenty  miles, 
and,  crossing  a  wilderness,  entered  the  Valley  of 
Wyoming  through  a  gap  of  the  mountain  near  its 
northern  extremity.  They  took  possession  of  two 
small  forts,  without  opposition,  on  the  3d  of  July, 
the  first  of  which  was  called  the  Exeter  Fort.  It 
was  said  the  garrison  consisted  chiefly  of  Tories, 
who  treacherously  surrendered  it  to  the  enemy. 
The  other  was  the  fort  of  Lackawana,  where  the 
enemy  encountered  some  resistance.  But  it  was 
soon  carried,  a  magistrate  named  Jenkins  being 
killed,  together  with  his  family,  and  several  others, 
mostly  women  and  children,  made  prisoners.  One 
of  these  forts  was  burned.  In  the  other,  the  proper 
name  of  which  was  Fort  Wintermoot,  Colonel  John 
Butler  established  his  headquarters. 

The  inhabitants,  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the 
approach  of  the  invaders,  assembled  within  a  forti- 


AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  301 

fication  four  miles  below,  called  Fort  Forty,  from 
the  circumstance  of  its  having  been  occupied  by 
forty  men  at  some  period  of  the  antecedent  troubles 
of  the  colony.  Colonel  Zcbulon  Butler,  whose 
name  has  occurred  several  times  in  the  preceding 
summary  of  the  history  of  Wyoming,  was  in  com 
mand  of  about  sixty  regular  troops,  and  he  now 
made  every  exertion  to  muster  the  militia  of  the 
settlements.  But  in  his  official  despatch  he  com 
plained  that,  as  the  women  and  children  had  fled  to 
the  several  forts,  of  which  there  were  seven  within 
the  distance  of  ten  miles  along  the  valley,  the  men, 
too  many  of  them,  would  remain  behind  to  take 
care  of  them.  Still,  he  succeeded  in  collecting 
about  three  hundred  of  the  militia,  and  commenced 
his  march  to  meet  the  enemy  on  the  1st  of  July,  in 
connexion  with  the  regular  troops  before  mentioned, 
commanded  by  Captain  Hewett.  On  their  first  ad 
vance,  they  fell  in  with  a  scout  of  Indians,  of  whom 
they  killed  two.  These  savages  had  just  murdered 
nine  men  engaged  at  work  in  a  corn-field.  Not 
being  supplied  with  provisions,  Colonel  Zebulon 
Butler  was  obliged  to  fall  back  upon  Fort  Forty, 
while  his  militia  procured  supplies.  They  muster 
ed  again  on  the  3d,  and  a  council  of  war  was  con 
vened.  Messengers  having  been  despatched  to  the 
headquarters  of  General  Washington  for  assistance, 
immediately  after  the  enemy's  movements  were 
known  at  Wyoming,  Colonel  Z.  Butler  was  desi 
rous  of  waiting  for  re-enforcements.  But  his  offi 
cers  and  men  were  impatient  for  a  trial  of  strength. 
The  messengers  had  already  been  gone  so  IO-ILT, 
that  it  was  supposed  they  had  been  cut  oft*,  a:i-.l, 
consequently,  that  General  Washington  was  igno 
rant  of  their  situation.  In  that  case  no  re-enforce 
ments  could  reach  them  in  season  to  save  their  val 
ley  from  being  ravaged  ;  and  as  the  enemy's  forces 
were  daily  increasing,  it  was  held  to  be  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  attack  him  at  once. 


302  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

While  the  question  was  under  debate,  five  officers 
arrived  from  the  Continental  army,  who,  on  hearing 
the  tidings  of  the  meditated  invasion,  had  thrown  up 
their  commissions  and  hastened  home  to  protect  their 
families..  They  had  heard  nothing  of  the  messengers, 
and  intimated  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  speedy 
assistance.  The  discussions  were  animated  ;  but 
the  apprehension  that,  in  the  event  of  longer  delay, 
the  enemy  would  become  too  powerful  for  them, 
and  thus  be  enabled  to  sweep  through  their  valley 
and  destroy  their  harvest,  was  so  strong,  and  the 
militia  were  so  sanguine  of  being  able  to  meet  and 
vanquish  the  enemy,  that  Colonel  Butler  yielded, 
and  set  forward  at  the  head  of  nearly  four  hundred 
men,  Colonel  Denniston,  his  former  associate  in 
the  commission  of  the  peace,  being  his  second  in 
command. 

It  was  intended  to  make  a  quick  movement,  and 
take  the  enemy  by  surprise.  Having  approach 
ed  within  two  miles  of  Fort  Wintermoot,*  a  small 
reconnoitring  party  was  sent  forward  for  observa 
tion.  They  ascertained  that  the  enemy  were  ca 
rousing  in  their  huts  in  perfect  security  ;  but  on 
their  return  they  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  in 
with  an  Indian  scout,  who  immediately  fired  and 
gave  the  alarm.  The  Provincials  pushed  rapidly 
forward  ;  but  the  British  and  Indians  were  prepared 
to  receive  them,  their  line  being  formed  a  small 
distance  in  front  of  their  camp,  in  a  plain  thinly 

*  The  fort  was  thus  called  after  the  proprietor  of  the  land  whereon  it- 
was  built,  and  the  adjacent  territory,  a  distinguished  Tory  named  W:u- 
termoot.  He  was  active  in  bringing  destruction  upon  the  valley  ;  and, 
after  doing  all  the  mischief  he  could  to  the  settlement,  removed  tu 
Canada.  During  the  waf  with  England  in  1812-15,  while  the  British 
were  investing  Fort  Erie,  a  son  of  old  Mr.  Wintermoot,  a  lieutenant  in 
the  enemy's  service,  was  killed  by  a  volunteer  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Wyoming.  Young  Wintermoot  was  reconnoitring  one  of  the  American 
pickets,  when  he  was  shot  down  by  the  said  volunteer,  who  was  engaged 
in  the  same  service  against  a  picket  of  the  enemy.  The  volunteer  re 
turned  into  the  fort,  bringing  in  the  arms  and  commission  of  the  officer 
he  had  slain  as  a  trophy. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  303 

covered  with  pine,  shrub-oaks,  and  undergrowth, 
and  extending  from  the  river  to  a  marsh  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  On  coming  in  view  of  the  enemy, 
the  Americans,  who  had  previously  marched  in  a 
single  column,  instantly  displayed  into  a  line  of 
equal  extent,  and  attacked  from  right  to  left  at  the 
same  time.  The  right  of  the  Americans  was  com 
manded  by  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  opposed  to 
Colonel  John  Butler,  commanding  the  enemy's  left. 
Colonel  Denniston  commanded  the  left  of  the  Ameri 
cans,  and  was  opposed  by  Indians  forming  the  ene 
my's  right.  The  battle  commenced  at  about  forty 
rods'  distance,  without  much  execution  at  the  onset, 
as  the  brushwood  interposed  obstacles  to  the  sight. 
The  militia  stood  the  fire  well  for  a  short  time,  and 
as  they  pressed  forward  there  was  some  giving  way 
on  the  enemy's  right.  Unluckily,  just  at  this  mo 
ment  the  appalling  war-whoop  of  the  Indians  rang 
in  the  rear  of  the  American  left,  the  Indian  leader 
having  conducted  a  large  party  of  his  warriors 
through  the  marsh,  and  succeeded  in  turning  Den- 
niston's  flank.  A  heavy  and  destructive  fire  was 
simultaneously  poured  into  the  American  ranks  ; 
and  amid  the  confusion,  Colonel  Denniston  directed 
his  men  to  "fall  back"  to  avoid  being  surrounded, 
and  to  gain  time  to  bring  his  men  into  order  again. 
This  direction  was  mistaken  for  an  order  to  "  re 
treat,"  whereupon  the  whole  line  broke,  and  every 
effort  of  their  officers  to  restore  order  was  unavail 
ing.  At  this  stage  of  the  battle,  and  while  thus 
engaged,  the  American  officers  mostly  fell.  The 
flight  was  general.  The  Indians,  throwing  away 
their  rifles,  rushed  forward  with  their  tomahawks, 
making  dreadful  havoc,  answering  the  cries  for 
mercy  with  the  hatchet,  and  adding  to  the  univer 
sal  consternation  those  terrific  yells  which  invest 
savage  warfare  with  tenfold  horror.  So  alert  was 
the  foe  in  this  bloody  pursuit,  that  less  than  sixty 
of  the  Americans  escaped  either  the  rifle  or  the 


304  BORDER    WARS    OF   THE 

tomahawk.  Of  the  militia  officers,  there  fell  one 
lieutenant-colonel,  one  major,  and  ten  captains,  six 
lieutenants,  and  two  ensigns.  Colonel  Durkee  and 
Captains  Hewett  and  Ransom  were  likewise  killed. 
Some  of  the  fugitives  escaped  by  swimming  the 
river,  and  others  by  flying  to  the  mountains.  As 
the  news  of  the  defeat  spread  down  the  valley,  the 
greater  part  of  the  women  and  children,  and  those 
who  had  remained  behind  to  protect  them,  likewise 
ran  to  the  woods  and  the  mountains  ;  while  those 
who  could  not  escape  thus,  sought  refuge  in  Fort 
Wyoming.  The  Indians,  apparently  wearied  with 
pursuit  and  slaughter,  desisted,  and  betook  them 
selves  to  secure  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  day  after  the  bat 
tle,  Colonel  John  Butler,  with  the  combined  British 
and  Indian  forces,  appeared  before  Fort  Wyoming, 
and  demanded  its  surrender.  The  inhabitants,  both 
within  and  without  the  fort,  did  not,  on  that  emer 
gency,  sustain  a  character  for  courage  becoming 
men  of  spirit  in  adversity.  They  were  so  intimida 
ted  as  to  give  up  without  fighting ;  great  numbers 
ran  off;  and  those  who  remained  all  but  betrayed 
Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  their  commander.  The 
British  Colonel  Butler  sent  several  flags,  requiring 
an  unconditional  surrender  of  his  opposing  name 
sake  and  the  few  Continental  troops  yet  remaining, 
but  offering  to  spare  the  inhabitants  their  property 
and  effects.  But  with  the  American  colonel  the 
victor  would  not  treat  on  any  terms ;  and  the  peo 
ple  thereupon  compelled  Colonel  Denniston  to  com 
ply  with  conditions  which  his  commander  had  refu 
sed.  The  consequence  was,  that  Colonel  Zebulon 
But  lor  contrived  to  escape  from  the  fort  with  the  re- 
mains  of  Captain  Hewett's  company  of  regulars, 
and  Colonel  Denniston  entered  into  articles  of  capit 
ulation.  By  these  it  was  stipulated  that  the  settlers 
should  be  disarmed,  and  their  garrison  demolished  ; 
hat  all  the  prisoners  and  public  stores  should  be 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  305 

given  up ;  that  the  property  of  "  the  people  called 
Tories1'  should  be  made  good,  and  they  be  permit 
ted  to  remain  peaceably  upon  their  farms.  In  behalf 
of  the  settlers,  it  was  stipulated  that  their  lives  and 
property  should  be  preserved,  and  that  they  should 
be  left  in  the  unmolested  occupancy  of  their  farms. 

Unhappily,  however,  the  British  commander  either 
could  not  or  would  not  enforce  the  terms  of  the  ca 
pitulation,  which  were,  to  a  great  extent,  disregard 
ed  as  well  by  the  Tories  as  Indians.  Instead  of 
finding  protection,  the  valley  was  again  laid  waste  ; 
the  houses  and  improvements  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  the  country  plundered.  Families  were  bro 
ken  up  and  dispersed,  men  and  their  wives  separa 
ted,  mothers  torn  from  their  children,  and  some  of 
them  carried  into  captivity,  while  far  the  greater 
number  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  wandered  through 
the  wilderness  to  the  older  settlements.  Some  died 
of  their  wounds,  others  from  want  and  fatigue,  while 
others  still  were  lost  in  the  wilderness,  or  were 
heard  of  no  more.  Several  perished  in  a  great 
swamp  in  the  neighbourhood,  which,  from  that  cir 
cumstance,  acquired  the  name  of  "  The  Shades  of 
Death"  and  retains  it  to  this  day. 

These  were  painful  scenes.  But  it  does  not  ap 
pear  that  anything  like  a  massacre  followed  the  ca 
pitulation.*  Nor,  in  the  events  of  the  preceding  day, 
is  there  good  evidence  of  the  perpetration  of  any 
specific  acts  of  cruelty,  other  than  such  as  are  usual 
in  the  general  rout  of  a  battle-field,  save  only  the 
unexampled  atrocities  of  the  Tories,  thirsting,  prob 
ably,  for  revenge  in  regard  to  other  questions  than 
that  of  allegiance  to  the  king. 

There  seems,  from  the  first,  to  have  been  an  un- 

*  It  will  be  seen,  a  few  pages  forward,  by  a  letter  from  Walter  Butler, 
writing  on  behalf  of  his  father,  Colonel  John  Butler,  that  a  solemn  de 
nial  is  made  of  any  massacre  whatever,  save  the  killing'  of  men  in  arms 
in  the  open  field.  This  letter,  in  vindication  of  the  refugee  Butlers, 
would  have  been  introduced  here,  but  for  its  connexion  with  the  affair 
of  Cherry  Valley. 

VOL.  I.— A  A 


306  BORDER   WARS    OF    THE 

commonly  large  proportion  of  Loyalists  in  the  Wyo 
ming  settlements,  whose  notions  of  legal  restraint, 
from  the  previous  collisions  of  the  inhabitants,  were 
of  course  latitudinarian  ;  nor  were  their  antecedent 
asperities  softened  by  the  attempts  of  the  Whigs  to 
keep  them  within  proper  control,  after  hostilities 
had  commenced.  The  greater  number  of  these,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  together  with  those  who  \vere 
arrested,  had  joined  themselves  to  the  enemy.  But 
these  were  not  all  the  defections.  After  the  arrival 
of  the  enemy  upon  the  confines  of  the  settlement, 
and  before  the  battle,  a  considerable  number  of  the 
inhabitants  joined  his  ranks,  and  exhibited  instances 
of  the  most  savage  barbarity  against  their  former 
neighbours  and  friends.  Nor  has  it  ever  been  deni 
ed,  in  regard  to  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  that  none 
were  more  ferocious  and  cruel,  more  destitute  of 
the  unstrained  quality  of  mercy,  than  those  same 
Loyalists  or  Tories.  An  example  of  the  spirit  by 
which  they  were  actuated  is  found  in  the  following 
occurrence,  which,  on  account  of  its  Cainlike  bar 
barity,  is  worthy  of  repetition.  Not  far  from  the 
battle-ground  was  an  island  in  the  Susquehanna, 
called  Monockonock,  to  which  several  of  the  fugi~ 
tive  militiamen  fled  for  security,  throwing  away 
their  arms,  and  swimming  the  river.  Here  they 
concealed  themselves  as  they  could  among  the 
brushwood.  Their  place  of  retreat  being  discover 
ed,  several  Tories  followed  them  ;  and,  though  obli 
ged  to  swim,  yet  so  intent  were  they  upon  the  work 
of  death,  that  they  succeeded  in  taking  their  guns 
with  them.  Arriving  upon  the  island,  they  deliber 
ately  wiped  their  gunlocks,  recharged  their  pieces, 
and  commenced  searching  for  the  fugitives.  Two 
of  these  were  concealed  in  sight  of  each  other,  but 
one  of  them  escaped.  But  it  was,  nevertheless,  his 
lot  to  behold  a  scene  painful  enough  to  make  the 
most  hardened  offender  weep,  and  "blush  to  own 
himself  a  man."  One  of  the  pursuers  came  upon 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION  307 

his  companion  in  partial  concealment,  who  proved 
to  be  his  own  brother.  His  salutation  was,  "  So,  it 
is  you,  is  it  1"  The  unarmed  and  defenceless  man, 
thus  observed,  came  forward  and  fell  upon  his  knees 
before  his  brother,  begging  for  mercy  ;  promising  to 
live  with  him,  and  serve  him  forever,  if  he  would 
but  spare  his  life.  "  All  this  is  mighty  fine,"  replied 
the  unrelenting  traitor;  "  but  you  are  a  d — d  rebel !" 
saying  which,  he  deliberately  levelled  his  rifle,  and 
shot  him  dead  upon  the  spot.  In  a  domestic  war 
marked  by  such  atrocity,  even  among  those  claim 
ing  to  be  civilized,  it  becomes  us  to  pause  before 
we  brand  the  untutored  savage,  who  fights  accord 
ing  to  the  usages  of  his  own  people,  with  all  that  is 
revolting  and  cruel.* 

There  is  still  another  important  correction  to  be 
made  in  reference  to  every  written  history  of  this 

*  Doctor  Thatcher,  in  his  Military  Journal,  records  still  greater  bar 
barities  as  having-  been  perpetrated  on  this  bloody  occasion,  lie  says, 
"  One  of  the  prisoners,  a  Captain  Badlock,  was  committed  to  torture,  by 
having'  his  body  stuck  full  of  splinters  of  pine  knots,  and  a  fire  of  dry 
wood  made  around  him,  when  his  two  companions,  Captains  Ransom 
and  Durkee,  were  thrown  into  the  same  fire,  and  held  down  with  pitch 
forks  till  consumed.  One  Partial  Terry,  the  son  of  a  man  of  respectable 
character,  having  joined  the  Indian  party,  several  times  sent  his  father 
word  that  he  hoped  to  wash  his  hands  in  his  heart's  blood.  The  monster, 
with  his  own  hands,  murdered  his  father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters, 
stripped  off  their  scalps,  and  cut  off  his  father's  head ! '.  Thomas  Terry, 
with  his  own  hands,  butchered  his  own  mother,  his  father-in-law,  his  sis 
ters  and  their  infant  children,  and  exterminated  the  whole  family  '.  .'" 
Upon  which  the  worthy  doctor  remarks,  "  It  is  only  in  the  infernal  re 
gions  that  we  can  look  for  a  parallel  instance  of  unnatural  wickedness." 
It  is  doubtful  whether  so  great  an  atrocity  was  ever  committed  even 
there.  Certainly  no  such  were  perpetrated  at  Wyoming.  Dr.  Thatch 
er  also  states,  that  when  Colonel  Z.  Butler  sent  a  flag  to  propose  terms 
of  capitulation,  the  reply  of  Colonel  John  Butler  was  in  two  words — 
"  The  Hatchet."  He  also  remarks,  in  regard  to  the  moral  and  social 
condition  of  Wyoming,  that  but  for  the  dissensions  produced  by  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  "  the  inhabitants  of  this  secluded  spot  might  have 
lived  in  the  enjoyment,  of  all  the  happiness  which  results  from  harmony 
and  the  purest  natural  affection."  Witness  the  ten  years  of  civil  wars 
iketched  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  was  also  reported  that  a  man  na 
med  Thomas  Hill  with  his  own  hands  killed  his  own  mother,  his  father- 
in-law,  his  sisters  and  their  families !  And  such  is  history  !  Thesa 
monstrous  exaggerations  were  the  reports  of  the  battle  first  published  at 
Poughkeepsie,  on  the  20th  of  July,  as  derived  from,  the  lips  of  the  terri 
fied  fugitives  who  wore  wending  their  way  back  to  Conoec'.icut. 


308  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

battle  extant,  not  even  excepting  the  last  revised 
edition  of  the  Life  of  Washington,  by  Chief-justice 
Marshall.  This  correction  regards  the  name,  and 
the  just  fame,  of  Joseph  Brant,  whose  character  has 
been  blackened  with  all  the  infamy,  both  real  and 
imaginary,  connected  with  this  bloody  expedition. 
The  Indian  leader,  as  already  stated,  was  a  brave 
and  popular  Seneca  warrior,  named  Gi-en-gwah-toh  ; 
and  the  Indians  engaged  in  the  affair  were  almost 
exclusively  Senecas.  There  were  few,  if  any,  Mo 
hawks  among  them.  Captain  Brant  was  at  no  time 
in  company  with  this  expedition ;  and  it  is  certain, 
in  the  face  of  every  historical  authority,  British  and 
American,  that,  so  far  from  being  engaged  in  the 
battle,  he  was  many  miles  distant  at  the  time  of  its 
occurrence.  Such  has  been  the  uniform  testimony 
of  the  British  officers  engaged  in  that  expedition, 
such  was  always  the  word  of  Thayendanegea  him 
self,  and  such  is  the  statement  that  has  been  made 
to  the  author  by  Captain  Pollard,  a  Seneca  chief  of 
renown,  who  was  himself  in  the  battle.  It  will, 
moreover,  be  seen,  towards  the  close  of  the  present 
work,  that  after  the  publication  of  Campbell's  "  Ger 
trude  of  Wyoming,"  in  which  poem  the  Mohawk 
chieftain  was  denounced  as  "the  Monster  Brant," 
his  son  repaired  to  England,  and,  in  a  correspond 
ence  with  the  poet,  successfully  vindicated  his  fa 
ther's  memory  from  the  calumny. 

It  is  related  in  the  unwritten  history  of  this  battle, 
that  the  celebrated  Catharine  Montour  was  present, 
with  her  two  sons  ;  and  that  she  ranged  the  field  of 
blood  like  a  chafed  tigress,  stimulating  the  warriors 
of  her  adopted  race  to  the  onslaught,  even  in  the 
hottest  of  the  fight.  But,  from  the  antecedent  char 
acter  of  that  remarkable  woman,  the  story  can  hard 
ly  be  credited.  She  was  a  native  of  Canada,  a  half- 
breed,  her  father  having  been  one  of  the  early 
French  governors,  probably  Count  Frontenac,  as  he 
must  have  been  in  the  government  of  that  country 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  309 

at  about  the  time  of  her  birth.  During  the  wa/s 
between  the  Six  Nations  and  the  French  and  Hu- 
rons,  Catharine,  when  about  ten  years  of  age,  was 
made  a  captive,  taken  into  the  Seneca  country, 
adopted,  and  reared  as  one  of  their  own  children. 
When  arrived  at  a  suitable  age,  she  was  married  to 
one  of  the  distinguished  chiefs  of  her  tribe,  who 
signalized  himself  in  the  wars  of  the  Six  Nations 
against  the  Catawbas,  then  a  great  nation  living 
southwestward  of  Virginia.  She  had  several  chil 
dren  by  this  chieftain,  who  fell  in  battle  about  the 
year  1730,  after  which  she  did  not  again  marry. 
She  is  said  to  have  been  a  handsome  woman  when 
young,  genteel,  and  of  polite  address,  notwithstand 
ing  her  Indian  associations.  It  was  frequently  her 
lot  to  accompany  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  to 
Philadelphia,  and  other  places  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  treaties  were  holden  ;  and  from  her  character 
and  manners  she  was  greatly  caressed  by  the  Amer 
ican  ladies,  particularly  in  Philadelphia,  where  she 
\vas  invited  by  the  ladies  of  the  best  circles,  and  en 
tertained  at  their  houses.  Her  residence  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Seneca  Lake. 

Some  of  the  flying  fugitives  from  Wyoming  had 
not  proceeded  many  miles  from  their  desolate 
homes  before  they  met  a  detachment  of  Continent 
al  troops  on  their  way  to  assist  the  conlony.  It 
was  now  too  late.  But  the  detachment,  neverthe 
less,  remained  at  Stroudsburg  three  or  four  weeks ; 
by  which  time  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler  had  collect 
ed  a  force  consisting  of  straggling  settlers  and 
others,  with  whom,  and  the  regular  troops  just  men 
tioned,  he  returned,  and  repossessed  himself  of  Wy 
oming,  the  enemy  having  retired  shortly  after  the 
battle,  Colonel  John  Butler  to  Niagara,  and  the  In 
dians  to  their  homes ;  while  Thayendanegea  moved 
as  he  had  occasion,  from  his  old  haunts  higher  up 
the  Susquehanna,  at  Oghkwaga  and  Unadilla. 

Immediately  on  the  reception  of  the  disastrous 


308  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

battle  extant,  not  even  excepting  the  last  revised 
edition  of  the  Life  of  Washington,  by  Chief-justice 
Marshall.  This  correction  regards  the  name,  and 
the  just  fame,  of  Joseph  Brant,  whose  character  has 
been  blackened  with  all  the  infamy,  both  real  and 
imaginary,  connected  with  this  bloody  expedition. 
The  Indian  leader,  as  already  stated,  was  a  brave 
and  popular  Seneca  warrior,  named  Gi-en-gwah-toh  ; 
and  the  Indians  engaged  in  the  affair  were  almost 
exclusively  Senecas.  There  were  few,  if  any,  Mo 
hawks  among  them.  Captain  Brant  was  at  no  time 
in  company  with  this  expedition ;  and  it  is  certain, 
in  the  face  of  every  historical  authority,  British  and 
American,  that,  so  far  from  being  engaged  in  the 
battle,  he  was  many  miles  distant  at  the  time  of  its 
occurrence.  Such  has  been  the  uniform  testimony 
of  the  British  officers  engaged  in  that  expedition, 
such  was  always  the  word  of  Thayendanegea  him 
self,  and  such  is  the  statement  that  has  been  made 
to  the  author  by  Captain  Pollard,  a  Seneca  chief  of 
renown,  who  was  himself  in  the  battle.  It  will, 
moreover,  be  seen,  towards  the  close  of  the  present 
work,  that  after  the  publication  of  Campbell's  "  Ger 
trude  of  Wyoming,"  in  which  poem  the  Mohawk 
chieftain  was  denounced  as  "the  Monster  Brant," 
his  son  repaired  to  England,  and,  in  a  correspond 
ence  with  the  poet,  successfully  vindicated  his  fa 
ther's  memory  from  the  calumny. 

It  is  related  in  the  unwritten  history  of  this  battle, 
that  the  celebrated  Catharine  Montour  was  present, 
with  her  two  sons  ;  and  that  she  ranged  the  field  of 
blood  like  a  chafed  tigress,  stimulating  the  warriors 
of  her  adopted  race  to  the  onslaught,  even  in  the 
hottest  of  the  fight.  But,  from  the  antecedent  char 
acter  of  that  remarkable  woman,  the  story  can  hard 
ly  be  credited.  She  was  a  native  of  Canada,  a  half- 
breed,  her  father  having  been  one  of  the  early 
French  governors,  probably  Count  Frontenac,  as  he 
must  have  been  in  the  government  of  that  country 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  309 


at  about  the  time  of  her  birth.  During  th 
between  the  Six  Nations  and  the  French  and  Hu- 
rons,  Catharine,  when  about  ten  years  of  age,  was 
made  a  captive,  taken  into  the  Seneca  country, 
adopted,  and  reared  as  one  of  their  own  children. 
When  arrived  at  a  suitable  age,  she  was  married  to 
one  of  the  distinguished  chiefs  of  her  tribe,  who 
signalized  himself  in  the  wars  of  the  Six  Nations 
against  the  Catawbas,  then  a  great  nation  living 
southwestvvard  of  Virginia.  She  had  several  chil 
dren  by  this  chieftain,  who  fell  in  battle  about  the 
year  1730,  after  which  she  did  not  again  marry. 
She  is  said  to  have  been  a  handsome  woman  when 
young,  genteel,  and  of  polite  address,  notwithstand 
ing  her  Indian  associations.  It  was  frequently  her 
lot  to  accompany  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  to 
Philadelphia,  and  other  places  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  treaties  were  holden  ;  and  from  her  character 
and  manners  she  was  greatly  caressed  by  the  Amer 
ican  ladies,  particularly  in  Philadelphia,  where  she 
was  invited  by  the  ladies  of  the  best  circles,  and  en 
tertained  at  their  houses.  Her  residence  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Seneca  Lake. 

Some  of  the  flying  fugitives  from  Wyoming  had 
not  proceeded  many  miles  from  their  desolate 
homes  before  they  met  a  detachment  of  Continent 
al  troops  on  their  way  to  assist  the  conlony.  It 
was  now  too  late.  But  the  detachment,  neverthe 
less,  remained  at  Stroudsburg  three  or  four  weeks  ; 
by  which  time  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler  had  collect 
ed  a  force  consisting  of  straggling  settlers  and 
others,  with  whom,  and  the  regular  troops  just  men 
tioned,  he  returned,  and  repossessed  himself  of  Wy 
oming,  the  enemy  having  retired  shortly  after  the 
battle,  Colonel  John  Butler  to  Niagara,  and  the  In 
dians  to  their  homes  ;  while  Thayendanegea  moved 
as  he  had  occasion,  from  his  old  haunts  higher  up 
the  Susquehanna,  at  Oghkwaga  and  Unadilla. 

Immediately  on  the  reception  of  the  disastrous 


310  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

tidings  from  Wyoming  at  the  Continental  head 
quarters,  Colonel  Hartley's  regiment  was  ordered 
thither,  with  instructions  from  Congress  to  remain 
on  that  frontier  until  the  crops  were  secured  and 
the  enemy  should  have  retreated.  He  was  joined 
by  several  militia  companies,  and,  among  other  offi 
cers,  by  Colonel  Dennison,  who,  in  the  capitulation 
of  Wyoming,  had  stipulated  not  again  to  serve 
against  the  king's  troops.  He  accompanied  Colonel 
Hartley  in  an  expedition  against  some  of  the  Indian 
towns  up  the  Susquehanna,  in  the  direction  of  Ogh- 
kwaga,  several  of  which  were  destroyed.  A  few 
prisoners  were  also  taken.  It  appearing,  however, 
that  the  enemy  were  gathering  in  too  much  force 
for  him  to  remain  long  within  their  territory,  Col 
onel  Hartley  was  constrained  to  retreat.  An  attack 
was  made  upon  his  rear,  but  the  assailants  were  re 
pulsed.  Colonel  Dennison  doubtless  felt  himself 
warranted  in  breaking  the  stipulations  of  Fort  Wy 
oming,  by  the  fact  that  those  stipulations  were  not 
strictly  observed  by  the  Tories  and  Indians.  But 
the  enemy  made  no  such  allowance  ;  and  this  expe 
dition,  or,  rather,  the  conduct  of  Colonel  Dennison, 
was  subsequently  used  as  a  pretext  for  some  of  the 
incidents  connected  with  the  attack  upon  Cherry 
Valley. 

Colonel  Zebulon  Butler  built  another  fort  at  Wy 
oming,  which  he  continued  to  occupy  until  the  next 
year,  when  the  command  of  that  region  devolved 
upon  General  Sullivan.  In  the  mean  time,  the  out 
skirts  of  the  settlements  were  frequently  harassed 
by  straggling  parties  of  Tories  and  Indians,  who  oc 
casionally  committed  an  assassination,  or  carried 
off  a  few  prisoners.  The  Americans,  in  turn,  de 
spatched  every  Indian  who  fell  in  their  way.  In 
March  following,  the  fort  was  surrounded  by  a  force 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  and  Tories  dis 
guised  as  such.  They  attacked  the  fortress,  but  fled 
on  the  discharge  of  a  single  piece  of  artillery,  burn- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  311 

ing  whatever  buildings  had  either  been  re-erected 
or  left  standing  at  the  former  invasion.  The  gar 
rison  was  too  weak  to  allow  of  a  pursuit.  A  few 
weeks  afterward,  as  a  company  of  Continental 
troops  were  approaching  the  fort,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Powell,  they  were  iired  upon  by  a 
party  of  Indians  in  ambush,  while  passing  along  a 
single  track  through  a  difficult  swamp.  In  this  at 
tack,  Captain  Davis,  Lieutenant  Jones,  and  four 
privates,  were  killed.  The  detachment  formed  for 
action  with  all  possible  despatch,  but  the  Indians 
fled  after  two  or  three  discharges.  Nor  did  they  re 
appear  afterward,  in  that  immediate  neighbourhood, 
in  any  subsequent  stage  of  the  Revolutionary  con 
test,  although  other  sections  of  the  Pennsylvania 
frontier,  farther  south  and  west,  suffered  occasion 
ally  from  their  depredations,  particularly  in  the  fol 
lowing  year,  while  Sullivan  was  preparing  to  ad 
vance  into  the  Seneca  country.* 

*  Thus  ends  the  Revolutionary  history  of  Wyoming-.  But  from  what 
has  been  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  touching  the  history  of  this  val 
ley  and  its  feuds  before  the  Revolution,  the  reader  may  possibly  feel 
some  desire  to  learn  the  subsequent  progress  of  the  long-pending  land 
quarrel.  After  the  Indians  had  been  chastised,  the  settlers  returned, 
and  the  valley  and  its  precincts  once  more  began  to  flourish.  Pennsyl 
vania  again  interposed  her  claims  ;  and  a  commission  was  appointed  by 
Congress,  which  met  in  New  Jersey,  to  hear  the  case  and  decide  the 
question.  It  was  unanimously  decided  in  favour  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
people  held  that  this  decision  was  one  of  jurisdiction  merely,  and  with 
this  understanding  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  it.  But  fresh  troubles  arose. 
A  company  of  Continental  troops  was  stationed  there  in  1783,  to  keep 
the  peace,  and  this  only  made  matters  worse  ;  the  soldiers  became  licen 
tious  and  overbearing,  and  the  people  were  exceedingly  annoyed  thereat. 
In  the  spring  of  1784,  by  a  succession  of  ice-dams  which  accumulated  in 
the  river,  the  valley  was  overflowed,  and  the  inhabitants  were  compelled 
to  fly  to  the  mountains  for  safety.  When  the  ice  gave  way,  the  floods 
swept  off  everything,  leaving  the  whole  valley  a  scene  of  g'reater  deso 
lation  than  ever.  Presently  afterward  the  old  troubles  broke  out  afresh. 
The  inhabitants  refused  to  obey  their  new  masters.  The  Connecticut 
settlers  flew  to  arms  ;  the  Pcnnsylvanians  sent  troops  thither ;  the  Con 
necticut  settlers  laid  siege  to  the  fort ;  there  were  riots  and  skirmish 
ings,  and  some  killed  and  wounded.  The  Connecticut  people  wero 
taken  prisoners  by  treachery,  and  sent  off  to  prison.  They  escaped.  Re- 
enforcemeuts  of  troops  were  sent  by  Pennsylvania  ;  there  was  more 
blood  shed.  Various  attempts  were  made  to  settle  the  difficulties.  Com 
missioners  were  appointed  upon  the  subject,  ore  of  whom  was  Timothy 


312  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

No  sooner  had  Great  Britain  been  apprized  of  the 
alliance  between  France  and  her  revolted  colonies, 
than  it  was  determined  to  evacuate  Philadelphia,  and 
concentrate  the  royal  army  at  New- York.     Accord 
ingly,  on  the  18th  of  June,  the  British  troops  cross 
ed  the  Delaware  into  New-Jersey,  and  commenced 
their  march  for  New-York,  ascending  the  east  bank 
of  the  river  to  Allentown,  and  thence  taking  the 
lower  road  leading  through  Monmouth  to   Sandy 
Hook.    General  Washington,  anticipating  this  move 
ment,  had  previously  detached  a  division  of  the  ar 
my,  under  General  Maxwell,  to  impede  the  enemy's 
march.     It  was  known  that  General  Gates  was  ap 
proaching  with  the  army  from  the  North,  and  the 
enemy's  motions  were  no  sooner  ascertained,  than 
General  Wayne  was  despatched,  with  one  thousand 
chosen  men,  to  strengthen  the  lines.     The  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  was  directed  to  take  command  of  the 
whole  force  thus  sent  in  advance,  while  Washington 
himself  moved  rapidly  forward  with  the  main  army. 
It  was  his  design  to  bring  on  a  general,  and,  if  pos 
sible,  a  decisive  engagement.     The  result  of  his 
movements  for  that  object  was  the  battle  of  Mon 
mouth,  fought  on  the  28th  of  June.     The  disposi 
tions  for  this  engagement  were  admirably  arranged 
on  the  night  of  the  27th,  the  position  of  the  enemy 
being  such  as  to  afford  the  best  advantages  for  ;iu 
attack  upon  his  rear  the  moment  ho  should  get  iu 

Pickering.  He  was  forcibly  seized,  and  carried  into  captivity.  His 
story  has  been  written  by  himself,  and  is  full  of  interest.  These  diffi 
culties  continued,  with  feelings  of  the  bitterest  contention,  ten  years, 
before  matters  were  compromised  between  the  parties  so  that  they  set 
tled  down  in  peace.  It  is  now  a  rich  and  flourishing'  county,  and  ma/ 
be  called  the  Paradise  of  Pennsylvania. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  313 

motion.  Such  being  the  intentions  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  they  were  communicated  to  Gen 
eral  Lee,  who  was  ordered  to  make  his  dispositions 
accordingly,  and  to  keep  his  troops  lying  upon  their 
arms  to  be  in  readiness  at  the  shortest  notice.  At 
five  in  the  morning  of  the  28th,  the  front  of  the  en 
emy  was  observed  to  be  in  motion,  and  orders  were' 
instantly  despatched  to  General  Lee  to  move  on  and 
attack,  "  unless  there  should  be  very  powerful  rea 
sons  to  the  contrary."  Lee  was  also  advised  that 
Washington  was  himself  advancing  to  support  him. 
After  marching  about  five  miles,  to  the  great  sur 
prise  and  mortification  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
he  met  the  whole  advanced  corps  retreating,  by 
the  orders  of  Lee,  without  having  made  any  oppo 
sition,  except  one  fire  given  by  a  party  under  Col 
onel  Butler,  on  their  being  charged  by  the  enemy's 
cavalry,  who  were  repulsed.  Lee  was  sharply  re 
buked,  and  placed  in  arrest.  Hurrying  to  the  rear 
of  the  retreating  corps,  which  the  commander-in- 
chief  found  closely  pressed  by  the  enemy,  he  arrest 
ed  their  flight,  re-formed  them,  and  with  the  aid  of 
some  well-served  pieces  of  artillery,  at  once  check 
ed  the  enemy's  advance,  and  gained  time  for  making 
such  dispositions  as  the  unexpected  emergency  re 
quired.  The  battle  soon  became  general,  and  was 
obstinately  contested  at  various  points  through  the 
whole  day,  until  dark,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Gen 
eral  Washington  heading  their  respective  armies  in 
person.  By  the  misconduct  of  Lee,  however,  and 
an  error  of  General  Scott  in  the  morning,  advanta 
ges  had  been  lost  which  entirely  disconcerted  the 
views  of  the  commander-in-chief.  and  deprived  the 
American  arms  of  a  victory  which  was  all  but  cer 
tain.  Still,  the  fortunes  of  the  day  were  so  far  re 
covered,  that,  from  being  the  pursued,  the  Ameri 
cans  drove  the  enemy  back  over  the  ground  they 
had  followed,  and  recovered  the  field  of  battle,  and 
possessed  themselves  of  their  dead.  But  as  they 


314  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

retreated  behind  a  morass  very  difficult  to  pass,  and 
had  both  flanks  secured  with  thick  woods,  it  was 
found  impracticable  for  the  Americans,  fainting  with 
fatigue,  heat,  and  want  of  water,  to  do  anything 
more  that  night. 

Both  armies  encamped  in  the  field,  and  lay  upon 
their  arms,  Washington  himself  sleeping  in  his 
cloak,  under  a  tree,  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers.  His 
intention  was  to  renew  and  end  the  battle  on  the 
following  morning,  not  doubting  as  to  the  issue.  In 
deed,  the  result  of  that  day's  fight  was  justly  con 
sidered  a  victory  by  the  American  officers  ;  and  but 
for  the  conduct  of  Lee  in  the  morning,  it  would,  al 
most  beyond  question,  have  been  decisive.  But  the 
purpose  of  the  commander-in-chief  to  renew  the  en 
gagement  was  frustrated  by  a  silent  midnight  retreat 
of  the  enemy — so  silent,  indeed,  that  his  departure 
was  not  known  until  the  morning.  A  variety  of  cir 
cumstances  concurred  to  render  a  pursuit  by  the 
Americans  unadvisable ;  among  the  principal  of 
which  were,  the  extreme  heat  of  the  weather,  the 
fatigue  of  the  army  from  its  march  through  a  deep 
sandy  country,  almost  entirely  destitute  of  water, 
and  the  distance  the  enemy  had  gained  by  his  mid 
night  march.  A  pursuit,  it  was  believed,  would  aji- 
swer  no  valuable  purpose,  and  would  certainly  be 
fatal  to  numbers  of  the  men,  several  of  whom  had 
perished  of  heat  on  the  preceding  day.  The  Amer 
ican  commander  thereupon  drew  off  his  army  to  the 
Hudson,  crossed  over,  and  once  more  established 
his  headquarters  at  White  Plains.  Meantime,  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  proceeded  to  Sandy  Hook,  and  thence 
passed  his  troops  over  to  New- York.  The  loss  of 
the  Americans  in  this  battle  was  eight  officers  and 
sixty-one  privates  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty 
wounded.  That  of  the  enemy  was  three  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  and 
about  one  hundred  taken  prisoners.  One  thousand 
of  their  men  deserted  on  their  march.  Both  parties 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  315 

claimed  the  victory,  which  was,  in  fact,  won  by 
neither.  The  advantages,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
day,  were  in  favour  of  the  British  ;  in  the  after  part, 
of  the  Americans.  The  stealthy  retreat  of  the  for 
mer,  moreover,  covered  by  the  darkness,  left  no 
doubt  as  to  which  army  was  best  prepared  to  renew 
the  conflict  with  the  return  of  daylight. 

The  French  fleet,  under  the  Count  d'Estaing,  con 
sisting  of  twelve  ships  of  the  line  and  six  frigates, 
having  on  board  four  thousand  troops,  arrived  on  the 
coast  of  Virginia  about  the  1st  of  July.     The  design 
of  the  French  commander  was  to  engage  the  Brit 
ish  squadron  in  the  Chesapeake.     But,  unfortunate 
ly,  the  latter  had  sailed  for  New-York  a  few  days 
before.     Thither  the  count  followed  the  British  ad 
miral,  but  the  bar  of  the  New- York  harbour  would 
not  allow  the  entrance  of  his  heavy  ships.     An  at 
tack  upon  New- York  thus  proving  to  be  impractica 
ble,  by  the  advice  of  General  Washington  it  was  de 
termined  to  make  an  attempt  upon  Rhode  Island, 
then  occupied  by  six  thousand  British  troops,  com 
manded  by  Major-general  Sir  Robert  Pigott.     Gen 
eral  Sullivan,  with  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men, 
was   lying   in   the    neighbourhood  of  Providence. 
Count  d'Estaing  arrived  off  Newport  on  the  25th  of 
July,  and  arrangements  were  soon  adjusted  between 
General  Sullivan   and  himself  for  a  combined  at 
tack  upon  the  town  of  Newport,  by  land  and  sea. 
The  assault  was  to  be  made  on  the  9th  of  August, 
for  which  purpose  Sullivan  moved  down  to  Tiver- 
ton,  where  he  was  joined  by  General  Green,  and  the 
ships  of  war  entered  the  channel.     But  the  militia 
not  having  joined  the  regular  troops  so  promptly  as 
was  expected,  General  Sullivan  judged  it  necessary 
to  postpone  the  attack  for  a  day  or  two.     Meantime, 
Lord  Howe  appeared  off  the  harbour  with  the  Brit 
ish  fleet,  and  the  Count  d'Estaing  immediately  put 
to  sea  to  engage  him.     The  French  fleet  having  the 
weather  gage,  the  British  admiral  weighed  anchor 


316  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

and  put  to  sea,  followed  by  the  count.  A  storm  sep 
arated  the  fleets,  so  that  no  engagement  took  place  ; 
and  on  his  return  to  port  on  the  19th,  Count  d'Es- 
taing  found  it  necessary  to  repair  to  Boston  to  refit. 
During  the  absence  of  the  count,  however,  while  in 
chase  of  Lord  Howe,  General  Sullivan  had  crossed 
over  to  the  island,  and  on  the  15th  laid  siege  to  the 
town  of  Newport.  But  when  the  French  admiral  de 
parted  for  Boston,  the  militia,  disappointed  and  dis 
heartened  at  being  thus  abandoned  by  their  allies,  left 
the  service  in  such  numbers,  that  Sullivan  was  com 
pelled  to  raise  the  siege  and  retire.  He  was  pursued 
to  the  distance  of  a  mile  north  of  Quaker  Hill,  where, 
on  the  29th  of  August,  was  fought  the  battle  of  Rhode 
Island.  It  was  a  sharp  and  obstinate  engagement 
of  half  an  hour,  at  the  end  of  which  the  enemy  gave 
way  and  retreated.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was 
two  hundred  and  eleven  ;  that  of  the  enemy  two 
hundred  and  sixty.  Ascertaining,  soon  afterward, 
that  strong  re-enforcements  were  coming  from  New- 
York  to  the  aid  of  General  Pigott,  a  resolution  was 
immediately  adopted  by  Sullivan  to  evacuate  the 
island.  This  determination  was  executed  on  the 
night  of  the  30th— most  luckily,  as  the  event  proved  ; 
for  on  the  very  next  day  Sir  Henry  Clinton  arrived 
at  Newport  with  four  thousand  troops,  which  re-en 
forcement  would  doubtless  have  enabled  the  enemy 
to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  Americans. 

In  September,  after  the  return  of  the  British 
troops  to  New- York,  strong  divisions  moved  north 
ward  on  each  side  of  the  Hudson  River.  By  a  de 
tachment  of  one  of  these,  under  General  Gray,  a 
regiment  of  American  cavalry,  commanded  by  Col 
onel  Baylor,  was  surprised  while  asleep  at  Tappan, 
and  almost  entirely  cut  off.  The  enemy  rushed 
upon  the  sleeping  troopers,  numbering  one  hundred 
and  four  privates,  with  their  bayonets.  The  loss, 
killed,  wounded,  and  taken,  was  sixty-four.  This 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  317 

exploit  was  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Paoli,  under 
the  same  general,  the  preceding  year. 

In  consequence  of  the  hostile  spirit  very  gener 
ally  and  extensively  manifested  by  the  Indians — the 
great  Western  tribes  becoming  more  and  more  res- 
tiff — early  in  June,  immediately  preceding  the  affair 
of  Wyoming,  Congress  had  determined  upon  a  more 
enlarged  and  decisive  campaign  against  them.  This 
had,  indeed,  become  the  more  necessary  from  the 
belligerant  indications  among  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanese,  inhabiting  the  territory  now  forming  the 
State  of  Ohio.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
Koquethagaeehlon,  the  Delaware  chief  usually  known 
as  Captain  While-Eyes,  a  firm  friend  of  the  colonies, 
had  succeeded  in  preventing  his  people  from  taking 
up  the  hatchet  against  them,  in  opposition  to  the 
views  of  his  rival  chief,  Captain  Pipe.  But  in  the 
spring  of  the  present  year,  the  policy  of  the  latter 
had  wellnigh  prevailed,  through  the  revengeful 
machinations  of  three  celebrated  Loyalists,  named 
M'Kee,  Elliot,  and  Simon  Girty,  who  had  been  con 
fined  at  Pittsburgh  as  Tories  ;  but  who,  effecting 
their  escape,  traversed  the  Indian  country  to  De 
troit,  proclaiming,  as  they  went,  that  the  Americans 
had  resolved  upon  their  destruction,  and  that  their 
only  chance  of  safety  was  to  espouse  the  cause  of 
the  crown,  and  fight.  Availing  himself  of  the  ex 
citement  created  by  those  fugitives,  Captain  Pipe 
assembled  a  large  number  of  his  warriors,  and  pro 
claimed  "  every  one  an  enemy  to  his  country  who 
should  endeavour  to  persuade  them  against  fighting 
the  Americans,  and  declared  that  all  such  ought 
surely  to  be  put  to  death."  But  White-Eyes  was 
by  no  means  inactive  in  his  efforts  to  preserve 
peace.  Collecting  the  people  of  his  tribe,  he  ad 
dressed  them  with  great  earnestness  and  pathos. 
Observing  that  some  of  his  warriors  were  preparing 
to  take  up  the  hatchet,  he  admonished  them  strong- 


318  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ly  against  such  a  course,  which,  in  the  end,  could 
only  bring  upon  them  sure  destruction. 

The  counsel  of  White-Eyes,  supported  by  a  con 
ciliatory  message,  which  was  received  just  in  good 
time,  from  the  Americans,  prevailed  for  the  mo 
ment,  and  the  Delawares  came  to  the  unanimous 
determination  to  follow  his  advice,  and  his  alone. 

But  the  hostile  action  of  these  people  was  only 
suspended  for  a  short  time,  and  it  became  necessary 
for  more  extended  and  efficient  operations  against 
nearly  the  whole  race.*  In  the  project  of  Congress 
already  adverted  to,  it  was  intended  that  one  expe 
dition  should  move  upon  Detroit,  while  General 
Gates  was  instructed  by  resolution  to  co-operate 

*  Indeed,  the  Shawanese  had  not  been  remarkably  quiet  antecedent 
to  the  visitation  of  M'Kee,  Elliot,  and  Girty,  since  they  had  for  several 
years  been  engaged  in  a  system  of  predatory  warfare  against  the  cele 
brated  Colonel  Daniel  Boon  and  his  adventurous  companions,  almost 
from  the  day  they  made  their  appearance  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  with 
their  families,  in  1773,  when  the  settlement  of  the  present  State  of  Ken 
tucky  was  commenced.  Boon  had  been  engaged  with  Lord  Dunmore  in 
his  war  against  the  Shawanese  in  1774.  In  the  following  year  he  was 
attacked  in  Boonsborough,  his  principal  settlement  ;  and  through  the 
entire  years  of  1776  and  1777,  hostilities  were  actively  piosecuted  by  the 
savages  against  the  advancing  colonists.  In  one  of  the  earlier  battles 
Boon  had  lost  a  son.  A  second  son  fell  afterward,  and  his  daughter  was 
taken  a  captive,  but  bravely  rescued  by  the  chivalrous  father.  la  April, 
1777,  the  Indians  so  divided  their  forces  as  to  fall  upon  all  the  infant  set 
tlements  at  once,  and  their  little  forts  only  saved  the  people  from  de 
struction.  On  the  15th  of  April,  Boonsborough  was  attacked  by  one  hun 
dred  Indians,  at  which  time  the  inhabitants  suffered  severely.  On  the 
19th,  Colonel  Logan's  fort  was  attacked  by  a  force  of  two  hundred  In 
dians,  but  they  were  repulsed  by  the  garrison,  consisting  of  only  thirteen 
men,  two  of  whom  were  killed.  Re-enforcements  arriving  from  Virginia, 
the  skirmishes  became  almost  daily.  In  February  of  the  present  year 
(1778)  Boonsborough  was  again  attacked,  and  the  gallant  colonel  him 
self  taken  prisoner.  lie  was  taken  first  to  Chilicothe,  and  thence  to 
Detroit,  where  he  was  treated  with  humanity  by  Colonel  Hamilton,  the 
governor,  who  offered  the  Indians  £100  if  they  would  surrender  him 
into  his  hands,  that  he  might  liberate  him  on  his  parole.  But  having 
imbibed  a  strong  affection  for  their  most  subtle  and  successful  enemy, 
the  Indians  declined  the  offer.  Taking  him  back  to  Chilicothe,  the 
colonel  was  duly  adopted  into  one  of  the  Shawanese  families  as  a  son, 
to  whom  his  new  parents  became  strongly  attached.  He  soon  acquired 
their  confidence  to  such  an  extent,  that  they  allowed  him  to  wander  off 
and  hunt  by  himself.  Ascertaining,  however,  that  they  were  meditating 
another  descent  upon  Boonsborough,  he  absconded,  and,  eluding  pursuit, 
reached  his  home  on  the  20th  of  June. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  319 

with  that  expedition  by  carrying  the  war  into  the 
Seneca  country,  and  also  to  dispossess  the  enemy 
of  Oswego,  should  he  be  found  in  the  occupancy  of 
that  post.  It  appears  that,  at  the  very  moment  of 
the  invasion  of  Wyoming,  there  was  a  delegation 
of  Seneca  chiefs  at  Philadelphia ;  but  having  taken 
their  departure  without  communicating  with  the 
government,  a  resolution  was  passed  by  Congress, 
immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  Colonel  Z.  Butler's 
despatches,  instructing  the  board  of  war  to  send 
after  the  chiefs,  and  ascertain  from  them  in  what 
character,  and  for  what  purpose,  they  had  made  the 
said  visit ;  and  also  to  inquire  whether  the  Seneca 
warriors  had  not  been  engaged  in  hostilities  against 
the  United  States.  On  the  16th  of  July  information 
was  received  that  the  chiefs  refused  to  return,  and 
instructions  to  General  Schuyler  were  proposed,  di 
recting  him  to  intercept  and  detain  them  at  Albany. 
The  motion  was  negatived  ;  but  on  the  25th  of  July, 
Congress  having  ascertained  that  the  Senecas  were 
actually  engaged  in  the  invasion  of  Wyoming,  "  aid 
ed  by  Tories  and  other  banditti  from  the  frontiers 
of  New- York,  New-Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,"  it 
was  resolved  that  the  expedition  against  the  hos- 
tiles  of  the  Six  Nations  should  be  forwarded  with 
all  possible  despatch.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
from  the  expensiveness  of  the  undertaking,  the  ex 
pedition  against  Detroit  was  reluctantly  abandoned  ; 
but,  in  lieu  thereof,  General  M'Intosh,  commanding 
the  Western  Department,  was  ordered  to  proceed 
from  Pittsburgh  against  those  of  the  Indian  towns 
the  destruction  of  which,  in  his  opinion,  would  tend 
most  effectually  to  intimidate  and  chastise  them. 
M'Intosh  had  been  stationed  at  Pittsburgh  early  in 
the  spring,  and,  with  a  small  party  of  regulars  and 
militia,  had  descended  the  Ohio  about  thirty  miles, 
and  erected  a  fort,  which  was  called  by  his  own 
name,  at  Beavertown.  It  was  a  small  work,  built 
of  strong  stockades,  and  furnished  with  bastions 


320  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

mounting  one  six-pounder  each.  The  situation 
was  well  chosen,  as  a  point  affording  the  best  facil 
ities  for  intercepting  the  war  parties  of  the  West 
ern  Indians  in  their  frequent  hostile  incursions  the 
present  year. 

This  expedition  was  doubtless  judged  the  more 
important  from  the  increasing  audacity  of  the  In 
dians  on  the  Ohio  border  of  Virginia,  now  forming 
the  State  of  Kentucky.  In  August,  Colonel  Boon 
had  led  a  small  band  of  nineteen  men  against  one 
of  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Scioto,  before  reaching 
which  he  fell  in  with  and  dispersed  a  party  of  forty 
Indians  then  on  their  way  to  Boonsborough.  The 
colonel  found  the  town  at  Point  Creek  deserted, 
and  learned  that  their  whole  force  had  gone  against 
his  own  settlement,  to  the  defence  of  which  he  was, 
consequently,  compelled  to  hasten  back.  Fortu 
nately,  he  anticipated  their  arrival  by  a  few  hours, 
and  was  enabled  to  prepare  his  little  garrison  for 
defence.  On  the  8th  of  August,  the  Indians,  to  the 
number  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty,  arrived  be 
fore  the  fort,  led.  in  addition  to  their  own  chiefs, 
by  Captain  Duquesne,  and  eleven  other  Canadian 
Frenchmen.  The  garrison  was  formally  summon 
ed  to  surrender,  which  summons  was  peremptorily 
refused.  A  treaty  was  then  proposed  by  the  be 
siegers,  and  acceded  to,  the  Indians  requiring  that 
nine  men  should  be  sent  out  to  them  as  negotiators. 
But  this  movement  proved  to  be  an  artifice,  by 
means  of  which  they  hoped  to  gain  access  to  the 
fort.  An  attempt  to  grapple  with  and  carry  off  the 
nine  negotiators,  though  happily  unsuccessful,  dis 
closed  their  treacherous  design.  The  besiegers  then 
attempted  a  regular  approach  from  the  river's  brink 
by  mining  ;  but  finding  that  the  garrison  had  discov 
ered  their  purpose,  and  were  engaged  in  counter 
mining  them,  the  siege  was  abandoned  on  the  20th 
of  August.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  thirty-seven 
killed,  and  a  much  larger  number  wounded.  The 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  321 

loss  of  the  garrison  was  only  two  men  killed  and 
four  wounded. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  expedition  of  General 
M'intosh,  as  authorized  by  the  vote  of  Congress 
recently  cited,  was  specially  destined  against  the 
Sandusky  towns.  It  was  commanded  by  the  gen 
eral  himself,  and  consisted  of  one  thousand  men  ; 
but  such  were  the  delays  in  getting  it  on  foot,  that 
the  officers,  on  arriving  at  Tuscarawa,  judged  it  im 
prudent  to  proceed  farther  at  such  an  advanced  sea 
son  of  the  year.  They  therefore  halted  at  that 
place,  and  built  Fort  Laurens,  in  which  M'intosh 
left  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  John  Gibson,  and  returned 
himself  to  Fort  Pitt  for  the  winter. 

Connected  with  these  distant  Indian  operations 
of  the  summer  of  1778,  was  one  equally  distinguish 
ed  by  the  boldness  of  its  conception  and  the  brill 
iancy  of  its  execution.  The  increasing  hostility  of 
the  remote  tribes  upon  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi 
and  its  tributaries  had  induced  a  belief  that  a  pow 
erful  influence  must  have  been  exerted  upon  their 
minds  by  the  settlements  planted  long  before  at 
Kaskaskias,  and  in  the  country  of  the  Upper  Mis 
sissippi,  by  the  French,  in  connexion  with  Canada. 
For  the  purpose  of  striking  at  once  at  the  root  of 
the  evil,  an  expedition  was  organized  early  in  the 
season,  the  object  of  which  was  to  invade  and  take 
possession  of  those  settlements.  The  command 
was  intrusted  to  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clarke,  of 
Virginia,  a  bold  and  experienced  border  officer ;  and 
his  whole  force,  destined  to  penetrate  twelve  hun 
dred  miles  through  a  wilderness,  which  was,  in  fact, 
the  enemy's  country,  did  not  exceed  two  hundred 
men.  The  rendezvous  of  this  little  army  was  at 
the  Great  Kanhawa,  where  they  were  attacked  by 
a  superior  Indian  force  before  their  embarcation. 
But,  finding  they  were  not  able  to  make  any  im- 
Dression  upon  the  fort,  the  assailants  drew  off, 
VOL.  I.— B  B 


322  BORDER  WARS  OP  THE 

having  killed  but  one  man  and  wounded  one  or  two 
more.  Descending  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  a  small 
fort  was  erected  at  that  place,  in  which  a  garrison 
was  left  of  ten  or  twelve  families.  Arriving  within 
about  sixty  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  the 
troops  were  landed,  and,  with  only  four  days'  pro 
visions,  marched  for  the  Illinois.  They  reached 
the  precincts  of  Kaskaskias  at  midnight  on  the 
sixth  day,  having  marched  two  days  without  food, 
and  determined  forthwith,  and  unanimously,  to  take 
the  town  or  die  in  the  attempt.  The  town  was 
strongly  fortified,  and  contained  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  well-built  houses  ;  but  the  approach  of  the 
invaders  was  unknown  ;  the  people  and  the  garrison 
were  alike  slumbering  in  security ;  and  both  town 
and  fort  were  taken,  the  latter  being  carried  by 
surprise,  although  the  defences  were  sufficiently 
strong  to  resist  a  thousand  men.  The  command 
ing  officer,  Philip  Rocheblave,  was  made  prisoner  ; 
and  among  his  papers,  falling  into  the  hands  of  Col 
onel  Clarke,  were  the  instructions  which  he  had 
from  time  to  time  received  from  the  British  govern 
ors  of  Quebec,  Detroit,  and  Michilimackinack,  ur 
ging  him  to  stimulate  the  Indians  to  war  by  the  prof 
fer  of  large  bounties  for  scalps.  Rocheblave  was 
sent  a  prisoner  to  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia,  and 
with  him  were  sent  the  papers  taken  from  his  port 
folio. 

On  the  day  after  the  fall  of  Kaskaskias,  Captain 
Joseph  Bowman,  at  the  head  of  thirty  mounted 
men,  was  sent  to  attack  three  other  towns  upon  the 
Mississippi,  the  first  of  which,  called  Parraderuski, 
distant  fifteen  miles  from  Kaskaskias,  was  surpri 
sed,  and  taken  without  opposition,  the  inhabitants 
at  once  assenting  to  the  terms  of  the  conqueror. 
The  next  town  was  St.  Philip's,  distant  nine  miles 
farther  up. '  The  force  of  Captain  Bowman  was  so 
small,  that  he  wisely  determined  to  make  a  descent 
upon  St.  Philip's  in  the  night,  that  his  strength,  or 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  323 

rather,  his  weakness,  might  be  concealed.  The 
precaution  ensured  success ;  and  the  inhabitants, 
with  whom  the  whole  negotiation  was  conducted  in 
the  night,  acceded  to  the  terms  prescribed.  From 
St.  Philip's,  Captain  Bowman  directed  his  course 
upon  the  yet  more  considerable  town  of  Cauhow, 
distant  between  forty  and  fifty  miles.  This  town 
contained  about  one  hundred  families,  and  was  also 
approached  secretly,  and  entered  in  the  night.  Cap 
tain  Bowman,  with  his  troop,  rode  directly  to  the 
quarters  of  the  commander,  and  demanded  the  sur 
render  of  himself  and  the  whole  town,  which  was 
immediately  complied  with.  Taking  possession  of 
a  large  stone  house,  well  fortified,  the  "bold  dra 
goon"  immediately  established  his  quarters  therein, 
and  awaited  the  morning's  dawn,  which  would  dis 
close  to  the  people  the  diminutive  force  to  which 
they  had  surrendered.  Enraged  at  the  discovery, 
one  of  the  enemy  threatened  to  bring  a  body  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians  against  the  little  American 
squadron,  and  cut  them  off.  But  he  was  secured, 
and  in  the  course  of  ten  days  upward  of  three  hun 
dred  of  the  inhabitants  became  so  reconciled  to  their 
change  of  masters  as  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  United  States.  Leaving  a  small  guard  at 
Cauhow,  Captain  Bowman  returned  to  Kaskaskias. 
But  the  enemy  on  the  New- York  frontiers  were 
by  no  means  inactive.  In  addition  to  the  severe  af 
fair  in  the  Cobleskill  settlement,  in  which  Captain 
Christian  Brown  was  the  leader  of  the  American 
militia  and. a  small  band  of  regulars,  as  noted  in  the 
last  preceding  chapter  but  one,  a  large  band  of  In 
dians  and  Tories,  under  the  conduct  of  Brant  and 
Barent  Frey,  broke  into  the  same  district  at  the 
close  of  May,  and  inflicted  no  small  degree  of  dam 
age,  by  the  destruction  of  both  life  and  property. 
They  were  met  by  Captain  Patrick,  belonging  to 
Colonel  Alden's  regiment,  and  a  handful  of  troops, 
who  were  entirely  cut  to  pieces.  Captain  Patrick 


324  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

fell  early  in  the  engagement.  His  lieutenant,  a  cor 
poral,  and  nineteen  men,  were  also  killed.  The 
command  then  devolved  upon  a  sergeant,  who  fought 
bravely,  as  all  had  done.  But  they  were  surround 
ed  by  a  force  greatly  superior  in  numbers,  and  but 
four  men,  exclusive  of  the  sergeant,  escaped,  all 
wounded.  The  bodies  of  Patrick  and  his  lieutenant 
were  shockingly  mutilated.  A  portion  of  the  set 
tlement  was  burned,  and  the  settlement  of  Turlock, 
in  the  same  vicinity,  was  also  ravaged. 

Nor  was  this  all.  In  the  course  of  the  summer, 
and  probably  at  about  the  time  of  Colonel  Hartley's 
expedition  into  the  country  above  Wyoming,  one  of 
the  M'Donalds,  who  had  fled  from  Johnstown,  a 
Loyalist  officer,  distinguished  for  his  activity,  made 
a  sudden  irruption  into  the  Schoharie  settlements, 
at  the  head  of  about  three  hundred  Tories  and  In 
dians,  burning  houses,  and  killing  and  making  pris 
oners  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  came  in  his  way, 
and  were  not  able  to  make  their  escape.  The  little 
fortress  of  Schoharie  was  occupied  by  a  small  gar 
rison,  commanded  by  Colonel  Vrooman,  one  of  that 
class  of  men  who,  though  officers,  are  certain  never 
to  be  called  soldiers.  They  saw  the  ravages  of  the 
enemy — the  conflagrations  by  night  rendering  visi 
ble  the  acts  of  outrage  committed  by  day — but,  from 
their  own  weakness,  dared  not  to  venture  forth,  or 
make  a  show  of  opposition.  The  brave  Colonel 
Harper  was  in  the  fort  with  Vrooman,  and  was  little 
satisfied  with  the  course  of  that  officer.  Leaving 
the  fort,  therefore,  himself,  he  succeeded  in  making 
his  way  through  the  enemy,  mounted  his  horse,  and 
started  express  for  Albany.  His  movement  was 
discovered,  and  several  Tories  and  Indians  were 
despatched  in  pursuit.  They  overtook  him  in  the 
night,  at  an  inn  at  Fox's  Creek,  after  he  had  retired 
to  bed.  Hearing  the  noise  below,  the  colonel  sprang 
up  in  full  panoply,  and  as  they  broke  open  the  door, 
which  he  had  locked,  he  presented  his  arms  with 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  325 

such  earnestness  that  they  recoiled.  Standing  upon 
the  watch  until  the  dawn  of  morning,  he  again  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  to  horse,  and  rode  off.  One  of  the 
Indians  followed  him  almost  to  Albany,  the  colo 
nel  being  obliged  frequently  to  turn  upon  his  dusky 
pursuer,  who  as  often  took  to  his  heels  as  his  pur 
suit  was  discovered.  Having  communicated  the 
situation  of  affairs  in  the  Schoharie  Valley  to  Colo 
nel  Gansevoort,  a  squadron  of  cavalry  was  forth 
with  detached  to  their  assistance.  The  detachment 
rode  all  night,  and  early  on  the  following  morning, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  terrified  inhabitants  who  re 
mained,  the  tramp  of  hoofs  announced  the  approach 
of  succours.  The  spirited  light-horsemen  had  no 
sooner  sounded  a  charge  and  made  a  dash  upon  the 
besiegers,  led  on  by  Harper,  than  the  troops  sallied 
out  from  the  fort,  and  a  precipitate  retreat  of  the  en 
emy  was  the  consequence. 

The  people  of  Schoharie  had  suffered  severely 
from  the  scouts  and  scalping  parties  of  the  enemy 
during  the  summer,  but  their  bravery  in  individual 
contests  had  amply  avenged  their  wrongs.  On  one 
occasion  a  party  of  seven  Indians  made  prisoner 
of  a  Mr.  Sawyer,  whom  they  bound  and  marched 
off  into  the  wilderness.  Having  proceeded  eight  or 
ten  miles,  they  laid  themselves  down  to  sleep  for 
the  night.  But  their  prisoner  had  been  less  effect- 
aally  secured  than  they  supposed.  In  the  course 
)f  the  night  he  succeeded  in  disengaging  his  hands, 
and  cautiously  taking  a  hatchet  from  the  girdle  of 
one  of  the  Indians,  he  despatched  six  of  them  in 
rapid  succession,  and  wounded  the  seventh,  who 
made  his  escape.  Having  thus  relieved  himself  of 
his  keepers,  Sawyer  returned  home  in  safety,  and 
at  his  leisure. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  Lieutenant- 
colonel  William  Butler,  with  OUG  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  regiments  and  a  detachment  of  Morgan's  rifle 
men,  was  ordered  to  the  North,  and  stationed  at 


326  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Schoharie.  Butler  was  a  brave  and  experienced 
officer,  especially  qualified  for  the  service  upon 
which  he  was  appointed.  His  arrival  in  Schoharie 
had  a  salutary  effect,  by  discouraging  the  disaffect 
ed,  and,  by  the  presence  of  a  stronger  force  than  had 
yet  been  among  them,  establishing  the  confidence 
and  reviving  the  spirits  of  the  people.  Several  of 
his  scouting  parties  also  returned  with  good  success. 
Attached  to  the  rifle  corps,  under  Captain  Long, 
were  several  bold  spirits,  who  signalized  themselves 
so  greatly  in  the  partisan  warfare  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  that  many  of  their  exploits  are  fresh 
ly  remembered  among  the  inhabitants  of  Schoharie 
to  this  day.  Of  this  number  were  David  Elerson 
and  a  Virginian  named  Murphy.  The  first  expedi 
tion  of  Captain  Long  was  directed  to  the  valley  of 
the  Charlotte  River,  one  of  the  upper  tributaries  of 
the  Susquehanna,  flowing  from  the  mountains  south 
of  Schoharie.  The  object  was  to  arrest  and  bring 
to  the  fort  a  conspicuous  Tory  living  upon  that 
stream,  named  Service.  His  house  being  a  point 
of  rendezvous  and  supply  for  the  Tory  and  Indian 
scouts,  it  was  desirable  that  it  should  be  broken  up. 
While  on  his  way  to  the  place  of  destination,  it  was 
the  good  fortune  of  Captain  Long  to  intercept  a 
company  of  Tories,  enlisted  for  the  king's  service, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Catskill,  by  a  Captain 
Smith,  who  were  then  on  their  way  to  join  Sir  John 
Johnson  at  Niagara.  Smith  was  killed  by  the  si 
multaneous  shots  of  Elerson  and  his  captain,  they 
being  a  few  rods  in  advance  at  the  moment  when 
the  Tory  leader  emerged  at  the  head  of  his  men 
from  a  thicket.  His  followers  fled  in  every  direc 
tion.  They  had  intended  to  lodge  that  night  with 
Service,  but  that  unfortunate  man  had  guests  of 
quite  another  character.  While  unapprized  of  dan 
ger,  his  house  was  surrounded  by  the  troops  of 
Long,  when  in  an  instant  Murphy  and  Elerson  rush 
ed  in,  and  made  him  a  prisoner.  Having  been  in- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  327 

t'ormed  that  he  must  accompany  them  to  Schohans, 
on  leaving  his  house  he  seized  an  axe  standing  by 
the  door,  which  he  poised,  and  directed  for  a  blow 
at  the  head  of  Murphy.  The  latter  was  too  quick- 
sighted  to  receive  it ;  but  as  he  sprang  aside  to  avoid 
the  descending  weapon,  Service  fell  dead  from  the 
rifle  of  Elerson. 

After  his  term  of  enlistment  had  expired,  Murphy 
remained  in  Schoharie,  and  made  war  on  his  own 
account.  He  was  as  remarkable  for  his  fleetness 
as  for  his  courage  and  great  precision  in  firing.  He 
used  a  double-barrelled  rifle  ;  and  the  fact  of  his  fre 
quently  firing  twice  in  succession  without  stopping 
to  load,  and  always  bringing  down  his  man,  rendered 
him  a  terror  to  the  Indians.  Not  knowing  the  pe 
culiar  construction  of  his  rifle,  they  were  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  it  was  a  charmed  weapon,  and 
supposed  he  could  continue  firing  as  long  and  as 
often  as  he  pleased  without  loading  at  all.  He 
fought  the  savages  after  their  own  fashion  ;  was 
more  than  their  equal  in  stratagem  or  with  his  heels  ; 
and,  the  greater  the  apparent  danger  he  was  en 
countering,  the  greater  was  his  delight.  When  he 
had  opportunity,  he  took  pattern  of  the  Indians  in 
scalping  those  who  fell  by  his  unerring  aim  ;  and  it 
was  said  that  he  killed  forty  of  their  warriors  with 
his  own  hands. 

Colonel  Gansevoort  yet  remained  in  the  command 
of  Fort  Schuyler,  and  was  continued  there  during 
nearly  the  whole  year,  although,  weared  by  inaction, 
Willett  and  others  of  his  officers  made  a  strong  and 
formal  effort  to  be  relieved,  that  their  regiment 
might  have  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  themselves 
in  the  field  with  the  main  army.  At  Fort  Schuyler 
they  could  have  little  else  to  do  than  observe  the 
motions  of  the  enemy  on  the  lakes  and  the  St.  Law 
rence,  and  to  watch,  and  occasionally  cut  off,  a  hos 
tile  party  when  venturing  too  near  the  garrison. 
But,  from  the  correspondence  of  the  officers,  it 


328  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

would  appear  that  the  troops  of  the  garrison  must 
have  been  the  severest  sufferers  from  this  petty 
mode  of  warfare,  since  the  enemy  seemed  ever  to 
be  hovering  in  the  precincts,  ready  to  bring  down 
or  carry  into  captivity  such  straggling  soldiers  as 
ventured  beyond  musket-shot  from  the  fort.* 

Early  in  July,  Lieutenant  M'Clellan,  an  active  and 
efficient  officer,  was  sent  with  a  small  party  to  de 
stroy  the  buildings  and  public  works  at  Oswego, 
which  it  was  ascertained  were  not  at  that  moment 
in  the  occupation  of  the  enemy.  The  object  of  the 
expedition  was  accomplished,  and  the  buildings 
were  burned  to  the  ground,  together  with  a  quantity 
of  ammunition,  provisions,  and  other  public  stores. 
It  seems  unaccountable  that  this  post  was  left  thus 
wholly  unprotected ;  the  only  occupants  found  by 
the  American  party  being  a  woman  and  her  children, 
and  a  lad  fourteen  years  old.  The  woman  and  her 
family,  together  with  her  furniture  and  a  suitable 
supply  of  provisions,  were  placed  in  an  out-building, 
and  left  without  farther  molestation.  The  boy  was 
brought  off  as  a  prisoner,  and  furnished  some  im 
portant  information  touching  the  movements  of  the 

*  As  an  example  of  these  individual  murders,  the  following  passage 
is  copied  from  a  MS.  letter  from  Major  Robert  Cochran  to  Colonel  Ganse- 
voort,  dated  September  8, 1778.  During  the  occasional  absences  of  Colo 
nel  Gansevoort,  Major  Cochran  was  in  command  of  the  post:  "This 
morning  Benjamin  Acker,  of  Captain  De  Witt's  company,  who  was  out 
in  the  meadow,  was  killed  and  scalped  by  a  party  of  Indians,  -who  were 
seen  and  fired  at  by  the  sentinel  near  Brodack's  house.  I  heard  the 
firing  in  my  room,  and  ran  to  the  officer  of  the  guard  to  know  what  was 
the  matter.  I  was  informed  that  a  party  of  Indians  had  fired  upon  one 
of  our  men  who  had  gone  to  catch  a  horse,  and  that  he  had  either  been 
killed  or  taken  prisoner.  I  ordered  Captain  Bleecker  to  go  out  imme 
diately,  with  the  guard  just  parading,  to  see  if  he  could  find  him  dead 
or  alive.  They  found  Acker  lying  dead.  He  was  scalped,  and  a  weapon 
about  two  feet  and  a  half  long,  like  this"— [here  Major  Cochran  gave 
a  drawing  of  the  instrument — a  war  club,  with  a  blade  like  the  spear 
of  a  lance  inserted  in  the  side,  near  the  upper  end  of  it] — "  lying  near 
him.  This  lance-head  had  been  stuck  several  times  in  his  body.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  been  left  behind  on  purpose,  as  there  were  several 
marks  on  it,  denoting  the  number  of  persons  killed  and  scalps  taken  by 
the  means  of  it."  [Captain  Bleecker,  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  extract, 
is  the  venerable  Leonard  Bleecker,  yet  living  at  Sing  Sing.  He  was  a 
very  active  and  efficient  officer  at  Fort  Schuyler  for  a  long  time.] 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  329 

enemy  between  their  island  rendezvous  in  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  Niagara. 

But  Colonel  Gansevoort  had  some  serious  troubles 
to  encounter  within  the  garrison,  and  some  painful 
duties  to  execute.  Notwithstanding  the  high  char 
acter  which  the  forces  constituting  the  garrison  had 
acquired,  and  the  sound  patriotism  of  his  officers, 
the  spirit  of  disaffection  appeared  among  them  in 
the  spring,  and  the  early  part  of  the  summer,  to  an 
alarming  extent.  Distant  as  was  the  post  of  Fort 
Schuyler  from  New- York,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
succeeded  in  the  introduction  of  an  emissary  within 
the  fort,  in  the  character  of  a  recruit.  His  name 
was  Samuel  Geake.  He  was  an  American  soldier, 
and  had  been  corrupted  while  a  prisoner  in  New- 
York,  whence  he  was  sent  forth,  in  company  with 
Major  Hammell,  also  an  American  prisoner,  whose 
virtue  yielded  to  the  all-subduing  power  of  gold. 
Geake  accompanied  Hammell  to  Poughkeepsie, 
where,  in  furtherance  of  his  iniquitous  designs,  he 
enlisted  in  Captain  Abraham  Swartwout's  company, 
and  was  transferred  to  Fort  Schuyler,  to  join  Colo 
nel  Gansevoort's  regiment;  into  which  place,  for 
specific  objects,  he  was  instructed  to  insinuate  him 
self  by  an  aid-de-camp  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  After 
Hammell's  arrest,  Colonel  Varick  wrote  to  Ganse 
voort,  putting  him  on  his  guard  as  to  the  character 
of  Geake.  A  sergeant  named  Kartele  was  employ 
ed  by  Colonel  Gansevoort  to  ingratiate  himself  in 
Geake's  confidence,  and,  if  possible,  ascertain  his 
true  character,  and  penetrate  his  designs.  The 
commission  was  successfully  executed  by  the  ser 
geant,  and  the  whole  circumstances  of  Hammell's 
employment  by  the  enemy,  and  his  own,  were  elicit 
ed.  Geake  was  thereupon  arrested,  but  not  until  he 
had  made  great  progress  in  his  designs,  and  was  on 
the  eve  of  desertion,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  the 
British  army  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  tried  by  a 
court-martial,  made  a  full  confession,  and,  with  his 
VOL.  I.-C  c 


332  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

ment  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  numbered  thirty- 
four  dwelling-houses,  and  there  were  about  an  equal 
number  upon  the  north  side,  together  with  as  many 
barns  and  other  out-buildings,  and  several  mills. 
The  population,  for  the  number  of  houses,  was  nu 
merous.  The  lands,  rich  by  nature,  and  well  culti 
vated,  had  that  year  brought  forth  by  handfuls ;  so 
that  the  barns  were  amply  stored  vvith  their  prod 
ucts. 

It  was  at  the  close  of  August,  or  early  in  the  month 
of  September,  that  this  fine  district  was  laid  waste 
by  the  Indians  under  the  direction  of  Brant.  Most 
providentially,  however,  the  invasion  was  attended 
with  the  loss  of  but  two  lives  ;  one  man  being  killed 
outright,  and  another,  named  M'Ginnis,  perished  in 
the  flames.  The  particulars  of  this  hostile  irrup 
tion  were  these :  Entertaining  some  suspicions  of 
Brant,  who  was  at  Unadilla,  a  scout  of  four  men  had 
been  despatched  into  that  vicinity  for  observation. 
Three  of  these  men  were  killed  at  the  Edmeston 
settlement.  The  fourth,  John  Helmer,  succeeded 
in  making  his  escape,  and  returned  to  the  flatts  at 
half  an  hour  before  sundown,  just  in  time  to  an 
nounce  that  Brant,  with  a  large  body  of  Indians, 
was  advancing,  and  would,  in  a  few  hours,  be  upon 
them.  All  was,  of  course,  terror  and  alarm  through 
the  settlement ;  and  the  inhabitants,  men,  women, 
and  children,  were  gathered  into  Forts  Dayton  and 
Herkimer  for  security.  In  flying  to  those  defences, 
they  gathered  up  the  most  valuable  of  their  stuff, 
and,  by  means  of  boats  and  canoes  upon  the  river, 
succeeded,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  in  collect 
ing  a  large  portion  of  their  best  articles  of  furniture. 
But  they  had  no  time  to  look  after  their  flocks  and 
herds. 

Early  in  the  evening,  Brant  arrived  at  the  edge 
of  the  settlement,  but  as  the  night  came  on  exces 
sively  dark  and  rainy,  he  halted  with  his  forces  in  a 
ravine,  near  the  house  of  his  Tory  friend,  Shoe- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  333 

maker,  where  the  younger  Butler  and  his  party 
were  captured  the  preceding  year.  Here  the  chief 
tain  lay  with  his  warriors  until  the  storm  broke 
away  towards  morning,  unconscious  that  his  ap 
proach  had  been  notified  to  the  people  by  the  scout 
in  season  to  enable  them  to  escape  the  blow  of  his 
uplifted  arm.  Before  the  dawn  he  was  on  foot,  and 
his  warriors  were  sweeping  through  the  settle 
ment  ;  so  that  the  torch  might  be  almost  simul 
taneously  applied  to  every  building  it  contained. 
Just  as  the  day  was  breaking  in  the  east,  the  fires 
were  kindled,  and  the  whole  section  of  the  valley 
was  speedily  illuminated  by  the  flames  of  houses 
and  barns,  and  all  things  else  combustible.  The 
spectacle,  to  the  people  in  the  forts,  was  one  of  mel 
ancholy  grandeur.  Every  family  saw  the  flames 
and  smoke  of  its  own  domicil  ascending  to  the 
skies,  and  every  farmer  the  whole  product  of  his 
labour  for  the  season  dissolving  into  ashes. 

Having  no  fire-arms  larger  than  their  rifles,  the 
Indians  avoided  even  a  demonstration  against  the 
forts,  notwithstanding  their  chagrin  that  neither 
scalps  nor  prisoners  were  to  grace  their  triumph. 
But  as  the  light  of  day  advanced,  their  warriors  were 
seen  singly,  or  in  small  groups,  scouring  the  fields, 
and  driving  away  all  the  horses,  sheep,  and  black 
cattle  that  could  be  found.  Nothing  upon  which 
they  could  lay  their  hands  was  left ;  and  the  settle 
ment,  which,  but  the  day  before,  for  ten  miles,  had 
smiled  in  plenty  and  in  beauty,  was  now  houseless 
and  destitute.  Happily,  however,  of  human  life 
there  was  no  greater  sacrifice  than  has  already  been 
mentioned.  After  the  Indians  had  decamped  with 
their  booty,  a  force  of  between  three  and  four  hun 
dred  militiamen  collected,  and  went  in  pursuit,  fol 
lowing  as  far  as  Edmeston's  plantation  on  the  Una- 
dilla  River,  where  the  bodies  of  the  three  scouts 
were  found  and  buried.  But  no  other  results  at- 
tended  this  expedition.  A  party  of  the  Oneida  In- 


334  BORDER  WARS    OF    THE 

dians  was  more  successful.  They  penetrated  into 
one  of  the  Unadilla  settlements  burned  several 
houses,  retook  some  of  the  cattle  driven  from  the 
German  Flatts,  and  brought  off  a  number  of  pris 
oners. 

The  Oneidas,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were 
ever  faithful  to  the  cause  of  the  Whigs,  and  some 
times  fought  with  great  personal  bravery.  The 
Oriskany  clan  of  that  nation  joined  General  Herki- 
mer  on  the  morning  of  his  disastrous  battle,  under 
their  chiefs  Cornelius  and  Colonel  Honyerry,  and 
sustained  themselves  valiantly  in  that  murderous 
conflict. 

But  the  acquisitions  of  booty  by  the  Indians  at 
the  German  Flatts  were  more  than  counterbal 
anced,  a  few  days  afterward,  by  their  losses  in 
their  own  chief  towns,  Unadilla  and  Oghkwaga, 
which  were  invaded,  and  in  turn  laid  waste,  by  Col 
onel  William  Butler,  with  the  4th  Pennsylvania 
regiment,  a  detachment  of  Colonel  Morgan's  rifle 
men,  then  recently  stationed  at  Schoharie,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  and  a  corps  of  twenty  rangers. 
Having  marched  from  Schoharie  to  the  head  waters 
of  the  Delaware,  and  descended  that  stream  two 
days'  march,  Colonel  Butler  struck  off  thence  to 
the  Susquehanna,  upon  which  he  emerged  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Unadilla.  He  approached  the  set 
tlement  with  great  caution,  but  the  enemy  had  left 
the  place  several  days  before.  Two  of  the  white 
settlers,  Tories,  were  made  prisoners,  however, 
one  of  whom  was  compelled  to  guide  the  forces 
of  Butler  to  Oghkwaga,  which  service  he  perform 
ed.  The  town  was  taken  possession  of  without 
interruption,  the  Indians  having  fled  the  day  before 
in  the  greatest  confusion,  leaving  behind  a  large 
quantity  of  corn,  their  dogs,  some  cattle,  and  a 
great  part  of  their  household  goods.  The  march  of 
Butler's  troops  had  been  fatiguing,  and  the  vegeta 
bles  and  poultry,  which  they  found  here  in  great 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  335 

abundance,  enabled  them  to  fare  sumptuously  during 
their  stay.  The  town  was  uncommonly  well  built 
for  an  Indian  settlement,  there  being  a  considerable 
number  of  good  farmhouses  on  either  side  of  the 
river.  These  were  all  destroyed,  together  with 
the  Indian  castle  three  miles  farther  down  the 
river,  as  also  large  quantities  of  provisions,  intend 
ed  for  their  winter's  supply.  They  saw  nothing  of 
the  enemy,  and  lost  only  one  man  at  that  place,  who 
was  shot  by  an  Indian  straggler  lurking  in  ambush. 
Returning  to  Unadilla,  that  settlement,  upon  both 
sides  of  the  river,  was  burned,  as  also  a  gristmilf 
and  sawmill,  the  only  ones  in  the  Susquehannr 
Valley. 

But  although,  so  far  as  fighting  was  concerned,  i1 
was  an  easy  campaign,  still  the  difficulties  encoun 
tered  by  the  expedition  were  very  great,  and  such 
as  could  not  have  been  undergone  but  by  men  pos 
sessing  a  large  share  of  hardiness,  both  of  body  and 
mind.  They  were  obliged  to  carry  their  provisions 
on  their  backs,  and,  thus  loaded,  frequently  to  ford 
creeks  and  rivers.  After  the  toils  of  hard  marches, 
they  were  obliged  to  camp  down  during  wet  and 
chilly  nights  without  covering,  or' even  the  means 
of  keeping  their  arms  dry.  They  completed  their 
work  in  sixteen  days,  and  returned  to  Schoharie. 
But  the  Indians  were  not  slow  in  taking  their  re 
venge  for  this  destruction  of  their  towns.  An  In 
dian's  vengeance  slumbers  no  longer  than  until  an 
opportunity  is  afforded  for  sating  it,  as  will  appeal 
in  th/e  ensuing  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  arrest  of  Walter  N.  Butler  at  the  Germtm 
Flatts,  in  the  summer  of  1777,  his  trial,  and  con 
demnation  to  death,  his  reprieve,  as  also  his  sub- 


336  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

sequent  imprisonment  in  Albany,  and  his  escape, 
are  facts  with  which  the  reader  has  already  been 
made  acquainted.  Although  his  execution  would 
have  been  perfectly  justifiable  under  the  code  mih- 
taire,  taken,  as  he  had  been  within  the  American 
lines,  in  the  very  act  of  inviting  the  people  to  trea 
son,  yet  the  respectability  of  his  family,  and  the 
associations  he  had  himself  formed  in  Albany, 
where  he  had  been  educated  to  the  profession  of  the 
law,  were  the  causes,  through  the  interposition  of 
those  who  had  been  his  personal  friends  before  the 
war,  of  saving  his  life.  Still  the  reprieve  granted 
by  General  Arnold  was  followed  by  rigorous  con 
finement  in  the  jail  at  Albany  until  the  spring  of 
the  present  year,  when,  being  either  sick  in  reality,. 
or  feigning  to  be  so,  through  the  clemency  of  Gen 
eral  Lafayette  his  quarters  were  changed  to  a  pri 
vate  house,  where  he  was  guarded  by  a  single  sen 
tinel.  The  family  with  whom  he  lodged  were  To 
ries,  and  having  succeeded  in  making  the  sentinel 
drunk,  through  their  assistance  Butler  was  enabled 
to  effect  his  escape.  A  horse  having  been  provided 
for  him,  he  succeeded  in  joining  his  father  at  Ni 
agara  soon  after  the  affair  at  Wyoming.  His  tem 
per  was  severe  and  irascible,  but  he  was,  never 
theless,  not  without  his  good  qualities,  and  was  a 
young  man  of  fair  promise ;  "  a  pretty  able  young 
lawyeiy'  to  use  an  expression  from  the  lips  of  one 
who  knew  him  well.  It  is  believed,  however,  that 
he  took  mortal  offence  at  his  treatment  while  in 
Albany,  and  re-entered  the  service  of  the  crown, 
turning  with  resentment  and  thirsting  for  revenge. 

This  recapitulation,  in  part,  of  a  portion  of  the 
younger  Butlers  history,  is  deemed  essential  in 
Connexion  with  the  events  to  be  recorded  in  the 
present  chapter. 

There  was  with  General  Washington,  during  most 
of  the  summer,  a  Seneca  chief,  called  The  Grea 
Tree,  who,  on  leaving  the  headquarters  of  the  com 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  337 

mander-in-chief,  professed  the  strongest  friendship 
for  the  American  cause,  and  his  first  object,  after  his 
return  to  his  own  people,  was  to  inspire  them  with 
his  own  friendly  sentiments.  While  passing  through 
the  Oneida  nation  on  his  way  home,  he  professed 
the  strongest  confidence  in  his  ability  to  keep  his 
own  tribe  bound  in  the  chain  of  friendship,  and 
pledged  himself,  in  the  event  of  his  failure,  to  come 
down  with  his  friends  and  adherents,  and  join  the 
Oneidas.  But,  on  his  arrival  in  his  own  country, 
The  Great  Tree  found  his  tribe  all  in  arms.  The 
warriors  had  been  collected  from  the  remotest  of 
their  lodges,  and  were  then  thronging  the  two  prin 
cipal  towns,  Kanadaseago  and  Jennesee.  Having 
heard  that  the  Americans  were  preparing  an  expe 
dition  against  their  country,  they  had  seized  their 
hatchets ;  and  The  Great  Tree  was  himself  deter 
mined  to  chastise  the  enemy  who  should  dare  to 
penetrate  his  country.  All  the  Indians  west  of  their 
own  tribe,  including,  of  course,  the  Onondagas,  to 
gether  with  the  Indian  settlements  on  the  Susque- 
hanna  and  its  branches,  were  to  join  them ;  to  ren 
dezvous  on  the  Tioga,  and  make  a  descent  either 
upon  the  Pennsylvania  or  New-Jersey  frontier. 

The  Mohawk  chief,  Thayendanegea,  was  not 
among  the  Senecas  at  this  time,  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  fermentation  had  been  wrought  by  Butler 
after  his  return  to  Niagara.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he 
obtained  the  command  of  a  detachment  of  his  fa 
thers  rangers,  with  permission  to  employ  the  forces 
of  Captain  Brant.  Though  late  in  the  season,  young 
Walter  determined  to  undertake  an  expedition  into 
Try  on  county,  and  avenge  his  imprisonment.  It 
has  been  asserted  that,  \vhile  on  his  way  from  Ni 
agara  with  his  rangers,  Butler  met  Brant  returning 
from  the  Susquehanna  country  to  his  old  winter- 
quarters  at  Niagara,  and  that  the  proud  Mohawk 
was  not  a  little  displeased  at  the  idea  of  being  as 
signed  to  a  subordinate  station  under  a  man  whom 


338  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

he  cordially  disliked.  But  the  difficulty  was  adjust 
ed,  and  the  sachem  was  prevailed  upon  to  turn  back 
upon  the  white  settlements,  with  five  hundred  of 
his  warriors.  The  united  force  comprised  seven 
hundred  men. 

The  point  selected  by  the  enemy  was  Cherry 
Valley,  a  settlement  as  remarkable  for  the  respect 
ability  of  its  inhabitants  as  its  location  was  for  its 
beauty.  Unlike  the  generality  of  border  settlements, 
the  people  were  intelligent,  and  exemplary  for  their 
morals.  So  scrupulous  were  they  in  regard  to  ob 
serving  the  precepts  of  Christianity,  that  their  Com 
mittee  of  Safety  declined  sitting  with  the  Tryon 
County  Committee  on  the  Sabbath  day,  unless  in 
the  event  of  such  alarming  circumstances  as  would 
necessarily  "  super-exceed  the  duties  to  be  perform 
ed  in  attending  the  public  worship  of  God,"  which 
they  said  did  not  then  appear  to  be  the  case. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that,  in  consequence 
of  their  exposed  situation,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette 
had  directed  the  erection  of  a  fortification  at  that 
place  early  the  preceding  spring.  Colonel  Gansevoort 
at  once  solicited  the  command  of  the  post,  with  the 
regiment  which  had  so  greatly  distinguished  itself 
the  preceding  year  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Schuyler  ; 
but  it  was  given  to  Colonel  Ichabod  Alden,  at  the 
head  of  an  eastern  regiment,  unfortunately  but  lit 
tle  accustomed  to  Indian  warfare. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  Colonel  Alden  received 
a  despatch  from  Fort  Schuyler  by  express,  advising 
him  that  his  post  was  to  be  attacked  by  the  Tories 
and  Indians.  In  consequence  of  the  lateness  of  the 
season,  the  inhabitants,  not  anticipating  any  farther 
hostilities  before  spring,  had  removed  their  effects 
from  the  fortification,  where,  during  the  summer, 
they  had  been  deposited  for  safety,  back  to  their 
own  dwellings.  On  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence, 
they  requested  permission  to  remove  once  more  in 
to  the  fort,  or  at  least  to  be  allowed  again  to  depos- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  339 

ite  their  most  valuable  property  within  its  walls. 
But  Colonel  Alden,  discrediting  the  intelligence  as 
an  idle  Indian  rumour,  denied  their  solicitations, 
assuring  the  people  that  he  would  use  all  diligence 
against  surprise,  and,  by  means  of  vigilant  scouts, 
be  at  all  times  prepared  to  warn  them  of  approach 
ing  danger.  Accordingly,  scouts  were  despatched 
in  various  directions  on  the  9th.  The  party  pro 
ceeding  down  the  Susquehanna,  as  it  were  in  the 
very  face  of  the  enemy,  very  wisely  kindled  a  fire 
in  the  evening,  by  the  side  of  which  they  laid  them 
selves  down  to  sleep.  The  result  might  have  been 
foreseen.  They  were  all  prisoners  when  they  awoke ! 
Extorting  all  necessary  information  from  the 
prisoners  so  opportunely  taken,  the  enemy  moved 
forward  on  the  10th — Butler  with  his  rangers,  and 
Thayendanegea  with  his  Indians — encamping  for 
the  night  on  the  top  of  a  hill  thickly  covered  with 
evergreens,  about  a  mile  southwest  of  the  fort  aim 
village  of  Cherry  Valley.  The  snow  fell  several 
inches  during  the  night,  the  storm  turning  to  rain 
in  the  morning,  with  a  thick  and  cloudy  atmosphere. 
The  officers  of  the  garrison  were  accustomed  to 
lodge  about  among  the  families  near  the  fort ;  and 
from  the  assurances  of  Colonel  Alden,  the  appre 
hensions  of  the  people  were  so  much  allayed  that 
they  were  reposing  in  perfect  security.  Colonel 
Alden  himself,  with  Stacia,  his  lieutenant-colonel, 
lodged  with  Mr.  Robert  Wells,  a  gentleman  of  great 
respectability,  recently  a  judge  of  the  county,  who 
was,  moreover,  an  intimate  friend  of  Colonel  John 
Butler,  as  he  had  also  been  of  Sir  William  Johnson.* 
Having  aocert-ained  the  localities  in  which  the  offi 
cers  lodged,  the  enemy  approached  the  unsuspect- 
v,ig  village  in  the  greatest  security,  veiled  by  the 
Viaze  which  hung  in  the  atmosphere.  An  alarm 
was,  however,  given  before  the  enemy  had  actually 

*  Robert  WeHs  was  the  father  of  the  late  distinguished  counsellor, 
loLn  Woll?,  of  New-York. 


340  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

arrived  in  the  village,  by  the  firing  of  an  Indian 
upon  a  settler  from  the  outskirts,  who  was  riding 
thither  on  horseback.  He  was  wounded,  but,  never 
theless,  pushed  forward,  and  gave  instant  informa 
tion  to  the  vigilant  colonel.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  this  officer  still  disbelieved  the  approach  of 
an  enemy  in  force,  supposing  the  shot  to  have  pro 
ceeded  from  a  straggler.  But  he  was  soon  con 
vinced  of  his  error  ;  for,  even  before  the  guards 
could  be  called  in,  the  Indians  were  upon  them. 
Unfortunately,  probably,  for  the  inhabitants,  the 
rangers  had  halted  just'before  entering  the  village 
to  examine  their  arms,  the  rain  having  damaged 
their  powder.  During  this  pause  the  Indians  sprang 
forward  ;  and  the  Senecas,  being  at  that  period  the 
most  ferocious  of  the  Six  Nations,  were  in  the  van. 
The  house  of  Mr.  Wells  was  instantly  surrounded 
by  the  warriors  of  that  tribe,  and  several  Tories  of 
no  less  ferocity,  who  rushed  in  and  massacred  the 
whole  family,  consisting  at  that  time  of  himself,  his 
mother,  his  wrife,  his  brother  and  sister,  John  and 
Jane,  three  of  his  sons,  Samuel,  Robert,  and  Will 
iam,  and  his  daughter  Eleanor.  The  only  survivor 
of  the  family  was  John,  who  was  then  at  school  in 
Schenectady.  His  father  had  taken  his  family  to 
that  place  for  safety  some  months  before,  but  his 
fears  having  subsided,  they  had  just  removed  back 
to  their  home.  Colonel  Alden  having  escaped  from 
the  house,  was  pursued  some  distance  down  a  hill 
by  an  Indian,  who  repeatedly  demanded  of  him  to 
surrender.  This,  however,  he  refused  to  do,  turn 
ing  upon  his  pursuer  repeatedly,  and  snapping  his 
pistol,  but  without  effect.  The  Indian  ultimate!}' 
hurled  his  tomahawk  with  unerring  direction  at  his 
head,  and,  rushing  forward,  tore  his  scalp  from  him 
in  the  same  instant.  Thus,  in  the  very  outset  of 
the  battle,  fell  the  commander,  who,  had  he  been  as 
prudent  as  he  was  brave,  might  have  averted  the 
tragic  scenes  of  that  hapless  day.  Lieutenant-colo 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  341 

nel  Stacia  was  made  prisoner,  and  the  American 
guards  stationed  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wells  were  all 
either  killed  or  taken. 

The  destruction  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Wells  was 
marked  by  circumstances  of  peculiar  barbarity.  It 
was  boasted  by  one  of  the  Tories  that  he  had  killed 
Mr  Wells  while  engaged  in  prayer — certainly  a 
happy  moment  for  a  soul  to  wing  its  flight  to  another 
state  of  existence  ;  but  what  the  degree  of  hardi 
hood  that  could  boast  of  compassing  the  deatli  of 
an  unarmed  man  at  such  a  moment !  His  sister 
Jane  was  distinguished  alike  for  her  beauty,  her 
accomplishments,  and  her  virtues.  As  the  savages 
rushed  into  the  house,  she  fled  to  a  pile  of  wood  on 
the  premises,  and  endeavoured  to  conceal  herself. 
She  was  pursued  and  arrested  by  an  Indian,  who, 
with  perfect  composure,  wiped  and  sheathed  his 
dripping  knife,  and  took  his  tomahawk  from  his 
girdle.  At  this  instant  a  Tory,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  domestic  in  the  family,  sprang  forward  and 
interposed  in  her  behalf,  claiming  her  as  a  sister. 
The  maiden,  too,  who  understood  somewhat  of  the 
Indian  language,  implored  for  mercy.  But  in  vain. 
With  one  hand  the  Indian  pushed  the  Tory  from 
him,  and  with  the  other  planted  his  hatchet  deep 
into  her  temple ! 

The  fort  was  repeatedly  assaulted  during  the  day, 
and  at  times  with  spirit ;  but  the  Indians  being  receiv 
ed  by  a  brisk  fire  of  grape  and  musketry  from  the 
garrison,  avoided  the  fort,  and  directed  their  attention 
chiefly  to  plundering  and  laying  waste  the  village, 
having  sated  themselves  in  the  onset  with  blood. 

Among  the  families  which  suffered  from  the  toma 
hawks  of  the  Indians  and  Tories — for  the  latter,  as 
at  Wyoming,  were  not  to  be  outdone  by  their  un 
civilized  allies — were  those  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Dunlop  and  a  Mr.  Mitchell.  Mrs.  Dunlop  was  killed 
outright,  and  thus  shared  the  fate  of  Mrs.  Wells, 
her  daughter.  Mr.  Dunlop  and  another  daughter 


342  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

would  likewise  have  been  murdered  but  for  the  in- 
terposition  of  Little  Aaron,  a  chief  of  the  Oghkwaga 
branch  of  the  Mohawks,  who  led  the  old  gentleman, 
tottering  beneath  the  weight  of  years,  to  the  door, 
and  stood  beside  him  for  his  protection.  The  In 
dians  attempted  to  plunder  him  of  some  of  his  at 
tire,  but  the  sachem  compelled  them  to  relinquish 
that  portion  of  their  spoil.  The  venerable  servant 
of  God,  shocked  by  the  events  of  that  day  beyond 
the  strength  of  his  nerves,  died  within  a  year  after 
ward. 

The  case  of  Mr.  Mitchell  was  still  more  painful. 
He  was  in  the  field  at  work  when  he  beheld  the  In 
dians  approaching,  and,  being  already  cut  off  from 
his  house,  his  only  course  was  to  the  woods.  Re 
turning,  after  the  enemy  had  retired,  he  found  his 
house  on  fire,  and  within  its  plundered  walls  the 
murdered  bodies  of  his  wife  and  three  of  his  chil 
dren.  The  fourth,  a  little  girl  of  ten  or  twelve  years 
of  age,  had  been  left  for  dead.  But  signs  of  life  ap 
pearing,  the  parent,  having  extinguished  the  fire, 
which  had  not  yet  made  much  progress,  brought  his 
little  mangled  daughter  forth  to  the  door,  and,  while 
bending  over  her,  discovered  a  straggling  party  of 
the  enemy  approaching.  He  had  but  just  time  to 
conceal  himself,  before  a  Tory  sergeant,  named  New- 
berry,  rushed  forward,  and,  by  a  blow  of  his  hatchet, 
extinguished  what  little  growing  hope  of  life  had 
been  left  by  a  darker  though  less  savage  enemy  than 
himself.  It  is  some  consolation,  while  recording 
this  deed  of  blood,  to  be  able  to  anticipate  the  course 
of  events  so  far  as  to  announce  that  this  brutal  fel 
low  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  life  on  the  gallows,  by  or 
der  of  General  James  Clinton,  at  Canajoharie,  in 
the  summer  of  the  following  year.  On  the  next 
day  Mr.  Mitchell  removed  his  dead  to  the  fort  with 
his  own  arms,  and  the  soldiers  assisted  in  their  in 
terment.  Several  other  ^families  were  cut  off,  the 
whole  number  of  the  inhabitants  slain  being  thirty- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  343 

two,  mostly  women  and  children.  In  addition  to 
these,  sixteen  soldiers  were  killed.  Some  of  the 
inhabitants  escaped,  but  the  greater  proportion  were 
taken  prisoners.  Among  the  former  were  Mrs. 
Clyde,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Clyde,  who  was  absent, 
and  her  family.  She  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
woods  with  her  children,  excepting  her  eldest 
daughter,  whom  she  could  not  find  at  the  moment : 
and  although  the  savages  were  frequently  prowling 
around  her,  she  yet  lay  secure  in  her  concealment 
until  the  next  day.  The  eldest  daughter,  likewise, 
had  made  a  successful  flight,  and  returned  in  safety. 
Colonel  Campbell  was  also  absent ;  but  hastening 
home  on  hearing  the  alarm,  he  arrived  only  in  time 
to  behold  the  destruction  of  his  property  by  the 
conflagration  of  the  village,  and  to  ascertain  that 
his  wife  and  children  had  been  carried  into  captiv 
ity.  The  torch  was  applied  indiscriminately  to 
every  dwelling-house,  and,  in  fact,  to  every  building 
in  the  village.  The  barns,  being  filled  with  the  com 
bustible  products  of  husbandry,  served  to  render  the 
conflagration  more  fierce  and  terrific,  especially  to 
the  fugitive  inhabitants  who  had  escaped  to  the 
woods  for  shelter,  and  whose  sufferings  were  ag 
gravated  by  the  consciousness  that  their  retreating 
footsteps  were  lighted  by  the  flames  of  their  own 
households. 

The  prisoners  taken  numbered  between  thirty 
and  forty.  They  were  marched,  on  the  evening  of 
the  massacre,  down  the  valley  about  two  miles 
south  of  the  fort,  where  the  enemy  encamped  for 
the  night.  Large  fires  were  kindled  round  about  the 
camp,  into  the  centre  of  which  the  prisoners,  of  all 
ages  and  sexes,  were  promiscuously  huddled,  and 
there  compelled  to  pass  the  hours  till  morning, 
many  of  them  half  naked,  shivering  from  the  inclem 
ency  of  the  weather,  with  no  shelter  but  the  frown 
ing  heavens,  and  no  bed  but  the  cold  ground.  It 
was  a  dismal  night  for  the  hapless  group,  rendered, 


344  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

if  possible,  still  more  painful  by  the  savage  yells  of 
exultation,  the  wild,  half-frantic  revelry,  and  other 
manifestations  of  joy  on  the  part  of  the  victors,  at 
the  success  of  their  bloody  enterprise.  In  the 
course  of  the  night  a  division  of  the  spoil  was  made 
among  the  Indians. 

The  retiring  enemy  had  not  proceeded  far  on  their 
way  before  the  prisoners,  with  few  exceptions,  ex 
perienced  a  change  in  their  circumstances,  as  happy 
as  it  was  unexpected.  They  had  been  separated, 
for  the  convenience  of  travelling,  into  small  groups, 
in  charge  of  different  parties  of  the  enemy.  On 
coming  to  a  halt,  they  were  collected  together,  and 
informed  that  it  had  been  determined  to  release  all 
the  women  and  children  excepting  Mrs.  Campbell 
and  her  four  children,  and  Mrs.  Moore  and  her  chil 
dren.  These  it  was  resolved  to  detain  in  captivity 
as  a  punishment  to  their  husbands,  for  the  activity 
they  had  displayed  in  the  border  wars.  With  these 
exceptions,  the  women  and  their  little  ones  were 
immediately  sent  back,  bearing  a  letter  from  the 
commander  of  the  rangers  to  General  Schuyler. 
A  key,  perhaps,  to  the  motives  of  Captain  Butler  in 
this  act  of  humanity  is  found  in  the  circumstance 
that,  on  the  flight  of  his  father  and  himself  to  Can 
ada,  his  mother  and  the  younger  children  had  been 
left  behind.  Mrs.  Butler  and  her  children  were  de 
tained  by  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  permission 
to  follow  the  husband  and  son  to  Canada  had  been 
refused,  as  has  been  stated  in  a  former  chapter. 

Having  thus,  in  a  great  measure,  disencumbered 
themselves  of  their  prisoners,  the  enemy  proceeded 
on  their  journey,  by  their  usual  route  at  that  period, 
down  the  Susquehanna  to  its  confluence  with  the 
Tioga,  thence  up  that  river  into  the  Seneca  country, 
and  thence  to  Niagara.  Mrs.  Cannon,  an  aged  lady, 
and  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Campbell,  was  likewise  helu 
in  captivity  ;  but  being  unfitted  for  travelling  by  rea 
son  of  her  yenrs,  the  Indian  having  both  in  charge 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  345 

despatched  the  mother  with  his  hatchet,  by  the  side 
of  the  daughter,  on  the  second  day  of  their  march. 
Mrs.  Campbell  was  driven  along  by  the  uplifted 
hatchet,  having  a  child  in  her  arms  eighteen  months 
old,  with  barbarous  rapidity,  until  the  next  day, 
when  she  was  favoured  with  a  more  humane  master. 
In  the  course  of  the  march,  a  straggling  party  of 
the  Indians  massacred  an  English  family,  named 
Buxton,  residing  on  the  Butternut  Creek,  and  re 
duced  their  buildings  to  ashes. 

Thus  terminated  the  expedition  of  Walter  N.  But 
ler  and  Joseph  Brant  to  Cherry  Valley.  Nothing 
could  exhibit  an  aspect  of  more  entire  desolation 
than  did  the  site  of  that  village  on  the  following  day, 
when  the  militia  from  the  Mohawk  arrived,  too  late 
to  afford  assistance.  The  inhabitants  who  escaped 
the  massacre,  and  those  who  returned  from  captiv 
ity,  abandoned  the  settlement,  until  the  return  of 
peace  should  enable  them  to  plant  themselves  down 
once  more  in  safety,  and,  in  the  succeeding  summer, 
the  garrison  was  withdrawn,  and  the  post  aban 
doned. 

Next  to  the  destruction  of  Wyoming,  that  of 
Cherry  Valley  stands  out  in  history  as  having  been 
the  most  conspicuous  for  its  atrocity.  And,  as  in  the 
case  of  Wyoming,  both  in  history  and  popular  tradi 
tion,  Joseph  Brant  has  been  held  up  as  the  foul  fiend 
of  the  barbarians,  and,  of  all  others,  deserving  the 
deepest  execration.  Even  the  learned  and  estima 
ble  counsellor,  who  so  long  reported  the  adjudicated 
law  of  the  State  of  New-York,  in  the  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  John  Wells,  with  which  he 
closed  the  last  volume  of  his  juridical  labours,  has 
fallen  into  the  same  popular  error,  and  applies  the 
second  stanza  in  the  striking  passage  of  "  Gertrude 
of  Wyoming,"  which  called  forth  the  younger  Brant 
in  vindication  of  his  father's  memory,  to  the  case 
of  his  departed  and  eminent  friend.  It  was.  indeed, 
most  true,  as  applied  to  the  melancholy  case  of  Mr. 
VOL.  I.— Do 


346  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Wells,  of  whose  kindred  "  nor  man,  nor  child,  nor 
thing  of  living-  birth,"  had  been  left  by  the  Indians. 
But  it  may  be  fearlessly  asserted  that  it  was  not 
true  as  coupled  with  the  name  of  Joseph  Brant, 
His  conduct  on  that  fatal  day  was  neither  barbar 
ous  nor  ungenerous.  On  the  contrary,  he  did  all  in 
his  power  to  prevent  the  shedding  of  innocent  blood  ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  a  circumstance  beyond  his 
control,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  distin 
guished  counsellor  referred  to  would  not  have  been 
left  "  alone  of  all  his  race."  Captain  Brant  assert 
ed,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  question  his  veracity, 
that  on  the  morning  of  the  attack  he  left  the  main 
body  of  the  Indians,  and  endeavoured  to  anticipate 
their  arrival  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wells,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  affording  protection  to  the  family.  On  his 
way  it  was  necessary  to  cross  a  ploughed  field,  the 
yielding  of  the  earth  in  which,  beneath  his  tread,  so 
retarded  his  progress,  that  he  arrived  too  late. 

But  this  is  not  all.  On  entering  one  of  the  dwell 
ings,  he  found  a  woman  employed  in  household 
matters.  "  Are  you  thus  engaged,"  inquired  the 
chief,  "while  all  your  neighbours  are  murdered 
around  you?"  The  woman  replied  that  they  were 
in  favour  of  the  king.  "  That  plea  will  not  avail  you 
to-day,"  replied  the  warrior.  "  They  have  murder 
ed  Mr.  Wells's  family,  who  were  as  dear  to  me  as 
my  own."  "  But,"  continued  the  woman.  "  there  is 
one  Joseph  Brant ;  if  he  is  with  the  Indians,  he  will 
save  us."  "I  am  Joseph  Brant!"  was  the  quick 
response,  "  but  I  have  not  the  command,  and  I  know 
not  that  I  can  save  you  ;  but  I  will  do  what  is  in  my 
power."  At  the  moment  of  uttering  these  words, 
he  observed  the  Senecas  approaching.  "  Get  into 
bed  quick,"  he  commanded  her,  "  and  feign  your 
self  sick."  The  woman  obeyed,  and  when  the  In 
dians  came  up,  he  put  them  off  with  that  pretext. 
Instantly,  as  they  departed,  he  rallied  a  few  of  his 
Mohawks  by  a  shrill  signal,  and  directed  them  to 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  347 

paint  his  mark  upon  the  woman  and  her  children. 
"  You  are  now  probably  safe, "he  remarked,  and  de 
parted. 

Another  instance  will  serve  farther  to  illustrate 
the  conduct  and  bearing-  of  this  distinguished  Indian 
leader  on  that  occasion  :  After  the  battle  was  over, 
he  inquired  of  one  of  the  captives  for  Captain 
M'Kean,  who  had  retired  to  the  Mohawk  Valley 
with  his  family.  "  He  sent  me  a  challenge  once," 
said  the  chief;  "  I  have  now  come  to  accept  it.  He 
is  a  fine  soldier  thus  to  retreat !"  It  was  said,  in 
reply,  "  Captain  M'Kean  would  not  turn  his  back 
upon  an  enemy  where  there  was  a  probability  of 
success."  "I  know  it,"  rejoined  Brant:  "he  is  a 
brave  man,  and  I  would  have  given  more  to  take 
him  than  any  other  man  in  Cherry  Valley ;  but  J 
would  not  have  hurt  a  hair  of  his  head." 

These  were  generous  sentiments,  worthy  of  a  gen 
erous  soldier.  Indeed,  the  whole  conduct  of  the 
Mohawk  chief  on  that  melancholy  day  was  anything 
rather  than  characteristic  of  the  "  monster  "  Brant 
has  been  represented  to  be.  Of  the  conduct  of  the 
leader  of  the  expedition,  Captain  Walter  N.  Butler, 
a  less  charitable  judgment  must  be  formed,  not  so 
much,  perhaps,  on  account  of  the  atrocities  commit 
ted — because  these,  too,  may  have  been  beyond  his 
control,  or  suddenly  perpetrated  without  his  knowl 
edge — but  because  the  expedition  was  entirely  one 
of  his  own  undertaking.  It  was  said  that  Colonel 
John  Butler  was  grieved  at  the  conduct  of  his  son 
at  this  place  ;  remarking,  on  one  occasion,  in  regard 
to  the  murder  of  Mr.  Wells  and  family,  "  I  would 
have  gone  miles  on  my  hands  and  knees  to  save 
that  family,  and  why  my  son  did  not  do  it,  God  only 
knows."  It  has  also  been  asserted  that  the  colonel 
accused  Brant  of  having  incited  the  Indians  secretly 
to  commit  the  excesses  in  question,  in  order  to 
bring  odium  upon  his  son,  under  whose  command, 
as  the  reader  has  already  been  informed,  he  had 


348  BORDER    \\AUS    OF    THE 

been  placed,  strongly  in  opposition  to  his  own  wish 
es.  But  the  Mohawk  repelled  the  charge,  and  ap 
pealed  to  his  former  conduct,  particularly  in  the 
case  of  Springfield,  as  a  vindication  of  his  charac 
ter  from  the  imputation  of  wanton  cruelty. 

These  things  may,  or  they  may  not,  be  true  ;  but 
in  either  case  the  Loyalist  Butlers,  father  and  son, 
should  be  justly  dealt  by,  although  they  have  not 
been  as  yet.  At  least  the  world  has  never  heard 
what  they  might  possibly  have  said  in  their  own 
defence — nay,  what  they  did  say — in  regard  to  the 
affairs  of  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley ;  and  can 
dour  requires  the  admission,  that  the  narratives  of 
those  events  which  have  descended  to  us  were 
written  too  soon  after  their  occurrence  to  warrant 
a  belief  in  the  entire  impartiality  of  the  writers. 
But  as  truth  constitutes  the  great  excellence  of 
history,  and  as  a  just  opinion  can  rarely  be  formed 
upon  testimony  altogether  ex-parte  after  fifty-eight 
years  of  silence,  it  may  be  allowed  to  the  Butlers, 
though  dead,  to  speak  a  word  for  themselves.  The 
elder  Butler  lived  at  Niagara  many  years  after  the 
close  of  the  contest ;  and,  though  employed  in  the 
British  Indian  Department,  his  conduct  was  such, 
both  in  public  and  private  life,  as  to  command  the 
respect  of  those  who  knew  him. 

The  letter  of  Captain  Butler  to  General  Schuyler, 
written  the  day  after  the  affair  at  Cherry  Valley, 
was  delivered  by  the  gentleman  who,  of  all  others, 
felt  the  greatest  interest  in  facilitating  the  arrange 
ment  proposed — Colonel  Campbell  himself.  It  was 
not  answered  by  General  Schuyler,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  not  then  in  command  of  the  district ; 
and  for  the  still  farther  reason  that,  from  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  case,  it  took  a  different  direction. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  however,  a  letter  upon  the 
subject  was  addressed  to  Captain  Butler  by  Briga 
dier-general  James  Clinton,  which  called  forth  the 
following  reply  : 


AMERICAN     REVOLUTION.  349 

CAPTAIN  BUTLER  TO  GENERAL  CLINTON. 

"  Niagara,  18th  February,  1779. 
"  SIR, 

"  I  have  received  a  letter  dated  the  1st  of  January 
last,  signed  by  you,  in  answer  to  mine  of  the  12th 
of  November. 

"Its  contents  I  communicated  to  Lieutentant- 
colonel  Bolton,  the  commanding  officer  of  this  gar 
rison,  &c.,  by  whom  I  am  directed  to  acquaint  you 
that  he  had  no  objection  that  an  exchange  of  prison 
ers,  as  mentioned  in  your  letter,  should  take  place  ; 
but  not  being  fully  empowered  by  his  Excellency 
General  Haldimand  to  order  the  same  immediately 
to  be  put  in  execution,  has  thought  proper  I  should 
go  down  to  the  commander-in-chief  for  his  direction 
in  the  matter. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  Colonel  Butler,  as  he  ever  has 
done  on  every  other  occasion,  will  make  every  ef 
fort  in  his  power  to  have  all  the  prisoners,  as  well 
those  belonging  to  your  troops  as  the  women 
and  children  in  captivity  among  the  different  Indian 
nations,  collected  and  sent  in  to  this  post,  to  be 
forwarded  to  Crown  Point,  should  the  exchange 
take  place  by  the  way  of  Canada,  or  to  Oswego,  if 
settled  there.  In  either  case,  Colonel  Bolton  de 
sires  me  to  inform  you  that  the  prisoners  shall  re 
ceive  from  him  what  assistance  their  wants  may 
require,  which  prisoners  have  at  all  times  received 
at  this  post. 

"  The  disagreeable  situation  of  your  people  in  the 
Indian  villages,  as  well  as  ours  among  you,  will  in 
duce  me  to  make  all  the  expedition  in  my  power  to 
Canada  (Quebec),  in  order  that  the  exchange  may 
be  settled  as  soon  as  possible.  For  the  good  of 
both,  I  make  no  doubt  that  his  Excellency  General 
Haldimand  will  acquiesce  in  the  proper  exchange. 
The  season  of  the  year  renders  it  impossible  that 
it  should  take  place  before  the  10th  or  15th  of  May 
next.  However,  1  shall  write  you,  by  the  way  of 


350  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

Crown  Point,  General  Haldimand's  determination, 
and  when  and  where  the  exchange  will  be  most 
agreeable  to  him  to  be  made.  I  could  wish  Mrs. 
Butler  and  her  family,  including  Mrs.  Scheehan  and 
son,  and  Mrs.  Wall,  were  permitted  to  go  to  Canada 
in  the  spring,  even  should  the  exchange  be  fixed  at 
Ontario. 

"  It  is  not  our  present  business,  sir,  to  enter  into 
an  altercation,  or  to  reflect  on  the  conduct  of  either 
the  British  or  the  Continental  forces,  or  on  that  of 
each  other ;  but  since  you  have  charged  (on  report, 
I  must  suppose)  the  British  officers  in  general  with 
inhumanity,  and  Colonel  Butler  and  myself  in  par 
ticular,  in  justice  to  them,  and  in  vindication  of  his 
and  my  own  honour  and  character,  I  am  under  the 
disagreeable  necessity  to  declare  the  charge  unjust 
and  void  of  truth,  and  which  can  only  tend  to  de 
ceive  the  world,  though  a  favourite  cry  of  the  Con 
gress  on  every  occasion,  whether  in  truth  or  not. 

"  We  deny  any  cruelties  to  have  been  committed 
at  Wyoming,  either  by  whites  or  Indians ;  so  far  to 
the  contrary,  that  not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  was 
hurt  after  the  capitulation,  or  a  woman  or  child  be 
fore  it,  and  none  taken  into  captivity.  Though, 
should  you  call  it  inhumanity,  the  killing  men  in  arms 
in  the  field,  we,  in  that  case,  plead  guilty.  The  in 
habitants  killed  at  Cherry  Valley  do  not  lay  at 
my  door  :  my  conscience  acquits.  If  any  are  guilty 
(as  accessories)  it's  yourselves  ;  at  least,  the  con 
duct  of  some  of  your  officers.  First,  Colonel  Hart 
ley,  of  your  forces,  sent  to  the  Indians  the  enclosed, 
being  a  copy  of  his  letter  charging  them  with  crimes 
they  never  committed,  and  threatening  them  and 
their  villages  with  fire  and  sword,  and  no  quarters. 
The  burning  of  one  of  their  villages,  then  inhabited 
only  by  a  few  families — your  friends — who  imagined 
they  might  remain  in  peace  and  friendship  with  you, 
till  assured,  a  few  hours  before  the  arrival  of  your 
troops,  that  they  should  not  even  receive  quarters, 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  351 

took  to  the  woods ;  and,  to  complete  the  matter, 
Colonel  Denniston  and  his  people  appearing  again 
in  arms  with  Colonel  Hartley,  alter  a  solemn  capitu 
lation  and  engagement  not  to  bear  arms  during  the 
war,  and  Colonel  Denniston  not  performing  a  prom 
ise  to  release  a  number  of  soldiers  belonging  to 
Colonel  Butler's  corps  of  rangers,  then  prisoners 
among  you,  were  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  In 
dians  to  me,  after  the  destruction  of  Cherry  Valley, 
for  their  not  acting  in  the  same  manner  as  at  Wy 
oming.  They  added,  that,  being  charged  by  their 
enemies  with  what  they  never  had  done,  and  threat 
ened  by  them,  they  had  determined  to  convince  you 
it  was  not  fear  which  had  prevented  them  from 
committing  the  one,  and  that  they  did  not  want 
spirit  to  put  your  threats  against  them  in  force 
against  yourselves. 

"  The  prisoners  sent  back  by  me,  or  any  now  in 
our  or  the  Indians'  hands,  must  declare  I  did  every 
thing  in  my  power  to  prevent  the  Indians  killing 
the  prisoners,  or  taking  women  and  children  cap 
tive,  or  in  anywise  injuring  them.  Colonel  Stacey 
and  several  other  officers  of  yours,  when  exchanged, 
will  acquit  me  ;  and  must  farther  declare,  that  they 
have  received  every  assistance,  before  and  since 
their  arrival  at  this  post,  that  could  be  got  to  relieve 
their  wants.  I  must,  however,  beg  leave,  by-the- 
by,  to  observe,  that  I  experienced  no  humanity,  or 
even  common  justice,  during  my  imprisonment 
among  you. 

"  I  enclose  you  a  list  of  officers  and  privates 
whom  I  should  be  glad  were  exchanged  likewise. 
The  list  of  the  families  we  expect  for  those  as  well 
sent  back  as  others  in  our  hands,  you  have  likewise 
enclosed. 

ki  Colonel  Stacey  and  several  officers,  and  others, 
your  people,  are  at  this  post,  and  have  leave  to 
write.  I  am  your  very  humble  serv't, 

u  WALTER  N.  BUTLER,  Capt.  Corps  of  Rangers. 

"  Brigadier-general  Clinton,  of  the  Continental  Forces." 


352  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

This  is  a  straightforward,  manly  letter ;  and 
when  the  impartial  reader  is  weighing  the  testimony 
in  regard  to  the  transactions  of  which  it  speaks,  it 
certainly  deserves  consideration.  It  is,  moreover, 
believed  to  be  the  first  time  that  the  accused  have 
been  permitted  to  relate  their  own  side  of  the  case. 
There  were,  no  doubt,  bloody  outrages  committed, 
probably  on  both  sides,  because  in  such  a  contest, 
waged  by  borderers,  many  of  whom,  as  has  been 
seen,  were  previously  burning  with  indignation 
against  each  other,  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that 
individual  combatants  would  always  contend  hand 
to  hand  with  all  the  courtesy  which  characterized 
gallant  knights  in  the  days  of  chivalry.  In  justice 
to  Colonel  John  Butler,  moreover,  it  must  be  ad 
mitted  that  his  conduct  towards  his  prisoners  at 
Niagara,  and  among  the  Indians  in  that  country, 
was  uniformly  characterized  by  humanity.  One 
proof  of  this  disposition  was  afforded  in  the  case 
of  Colonel  Stacia,  whose  destruction  had,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  been  determined  upon  by  Molly 
Brant,  the  Indian  wife  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
who,  in  her  widowhood,  had  been  taken  from  Johns 
town  to  Niagara.* 

The  few  prisoners  from  Cherry  Valley  were 
marched,  by  the  route  already  indicated,  to  the 

*  Molly  Brant's  descendants  from  Sir  William  Johnson  compose  some 
of  the  most  respectable  and  intelligent  families  of  Upper  Canada  at  this 
day.  The  traditions  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  state  that  the  acquaintance 
of  Sir  William  with  Molly  had  a  rather  wild  and  romantic  commence 
ment.  The  story  runs,  that  she  was  a  very  sprightly  and  beautiful  In 
dian  girl  of  about  sixteen  when  he  first  saw  her.  It  was  at  a  regimental 
militia  muster,  where  Molly  was  one  of  a  multitude  of  spectators.  One 
of  the  field-officers  coming  near  her  upon  a  prancing  steed,  by  way  of 
banter  she  asked  permission  to  mount  behind  him.  Not  supposing  she 
could  perform  the  exploit,  he  said  she  might.  At  the  word  she  leaped 
upon  the  crupper  with  the  agility  of  a  gazelle.  The  horse  sprang  ofr 
at  full  speed,  and,  clinging  to  the  officer,  her  blanket  flying,  and  her 
dark  tresses  streaming  in  the  wind,  she  flew  about  the  parade-ground 
swift  as  an  arrow,  to  the  infinite  merriment  of  the  collected  multitude. 
The  baronet,  who  was  a  witness  of  the  spectacle,  admiring  the  spirit 
of  the  young  squaw,  and  becoming  enamoured  of  her  person,  took  her 
home  as  his  wife. 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  353 

Seneca  country.  Mrs.  Campbell  was  carried  to  the 
Seneca  Castle  at  Kanadaseaga,  where  she  was  pre 
sented  to  a  family  to  fill  a  place  made  vacant  by 
the  death  of  one  of  its  members.  Her  children,  the 
infant  included,  were  separated  from  her,  and  dis 
tributed  among-  different  Indian  families.  Being 
skilful  with  her  needle,  and  rendering  herself  use 
ful  to  those  with  whom  she  lived,  she  was  treated 
with  indulgence.  Among-  other  little  civilities,  per 
ceiving  that  she  wore  caps,  an  Indian  presented  her 
one,  which  was  cut  and  spotted  with  blood.  On  a 
closer  scrutiny,  h^r  feelings  were  shocked  by  the  dis 
covery,  from  the  mark,  that  it  had  belonged  to  the 
lovely  companion  of  her  youth,  the  hapless  Jane 
Wells ! 

After  returning  from  a  successful  expedition,  a 
dance  of  Thanksgiving  is  performed  by  the  Iroquois, 
which  partakes  of  the  character  of  a  religious  cere 
mony,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  had  the  opportunity,  soon 
after  her  arrival  at  Kanadaseaga,  of  seeing  the  fes 
tival  in  honour  of  their  recent  victory,  of  which  she 
herself  was  one  of  the  trophies.  A  grand  council 
was  convoked  for  this  purpose,  and  preparations 
were  made  for  the  observance  of  the  festival,  upon 
a  scale  corresponding  with  the  importance  of  the 
achievements  they  were  to  celebrate.  The  arrange 
ments  having  been  completed,  the  warriors  came 
forth  to  the  centre  of  the  village,  where  the  great 
fire  had  been  kindled,  horribly  disfigured  by  black 
and  red  paint,  and  commenced  their  savage  rites  by 
singing  of  their  own  exploits,  and  those  of  their  an 
cestors  ;  by  degrees  working  themselves  up  into  a 
tempest  of  passion ;  whooping,  yelling,  and  utter 
ing  every  hideous  cry  ;  brandishing  their  knives  and 
war-clubs,  and  throwing  themselves  into  the  most 
menacing  attitudes,  in  a  manner  terrific  to  the  un- 
practiced  beholder.  There  was  no  prisoner  put  to 
the  torture,  or  attired  with  the  raven  death-cap  on 
this  occasion ;  but  the  prisoners  were  paraded,  and 


354  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  scalps  borne  in  procession,  as  would  have  been 
the  standards  taken  in  civilized  warfare  in  the  cele 
bration  of  a  triumph.  For  every  scalp,  and  for  every 
prisoner  taken,  the  scalp-yell,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  the  death-halloo,  was  raised  in  all  its  mingled 
tones  of  triumph  and  terror.  The  white  dog  for  the 
sacrifice  was  then  killed ;  the  offerings  collected 
were  thrown  into  the  fire ;  whereupon  the  dog  \vas 
laid  upon  the  pile  and  thoroughly  roasted.  The 
flesh  was  then  eaten,  and  the  wild  festival  closed. 

From  an  account  of  the  ceremonies  at  one  of  the 
festivals,  of  which  Mrs.  Campbell  was  a  spectator 
during  her  captivity,  she  must  have  been  present  at 
the  great  annual  feast  of  thanksgiving  and  remission 
of  sin,  which  is  held  by  the  Senecas  and  other  tribes 
of  the  confederacy.  This  is  their  greatest  national 
and  most  solemn  sacrifice.  It  is  invariably  held  at 
the  time  of  the  old  moon  in  January,  and  is  cele 
brated  with  great  parade ;  the  ceremonies  being 
conducted  with  the  utmost  order,  harmony,  and  de 
corum,  under  the  direction  of  a  large  committee  ap 
pointed  for  that  purpose. 

The  festivities  continued  nine  days,  on  the  first 
of  which  two  white  dogs,  without  spot  or  blemish, 
if  such  could  be  found,  were  strangled  and  hung  up 
before  the  door  of  the  council-house,  at  the  height 
of  twenty  feet.  Not  a  drop  of  blood  was  allowed 
to  be  shed  in  compassing  their  death,  as  the  victims 
would  thereby  be  rendered  unfit  for  the  sacrifice. 
After  the  animals  were  killed,  and  before  their  sus 
pension,  their  faces  were  painted  red,  as  also  the 
edges  of  their  ears  and  other  parts  of  their  bodies. 
They  were  then  fantastically  decorated  with  rib 
ands  and  feathers,  rendering  them  as  beautiful,  in 
the  eye  of  an  Indian,  as  possible.  Their  fancy  dress 
being  completed,  the  dogs  were  hung  up,  and  the 
ceremonies  of  the  frolic  commenced.  In  the  course 
of  the  first  day  every  lodge  in  the  town  was  visited 
by  the  committee,  each  member  being  provided  with 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  355 

a  shovel,  with  whic>  he  amoved  the  ashes  and  coals 
from  every  hearth,  .aid  scattered  them  to  the  winds. 
In  this  manner  th.-  fire  of  every  lodge  was  ex 
tinguished,  to  be  rekindled  only  by  striking  virgin 
sparks  from  the  flint.  The  discharge  of  a  gun  at 
every  lodge  announced  that  the  work  of  purification, 
even  of  fire  itself,  had  been  performed  ;  and  with 
this  ceremony  ended  the  labours  of  the  first  day. 

The  ceremonies  of  the  second  day  were  opened 
with  a  dance  by  the  committee,  after  which,  dressed 
in  bear-skins,  the  members  visited  every  lodge,  with 
baskets  to  take  up  alms,  receiving  whatever  was 
bestowed,  but  particularly  tobacco,  and  other  arti 
cles  used  for  incense  in  the  sacrifice.  Two  or  three 
days  were  occupied  in  receiving  these  grateful  dona 
tions,  during  which  time  the  people  at  the  council- 
house  were  engaged  in  dances  and  other  recreations. 
On  the  fifth  day  masks  were  added  to  the  bear-skin 
dresses  of  the  masters  of  the  festival,  some  ludicrous 
and  others  frightful,  in  which  they  ran  about  the  vil 
lage,  smearing  themselves  with  dirt,  and  bedaubing 
all  such  as  refused  tc  add  to  the  contents  of  their 
baskets  of  incense.  While  thus  engaged,  the  col 
lectors  were  supposed  to  receive  into  their  own 
oodies  all  the  sins  of  their  tribe,  however  numerous 
or  heinous,  committed  within  the  preceding  year. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  the  feast,  by  some  magical 
process,  the  sins  of  the  nation  thus  collected  were 
transfused  from  the  several  members  of  the  com 
mittee  into  one  of  their  number.  The  dogs  were 
then  taken  down,  and  the  whole  weight  of  the  na 
tion's  iniquity,  by  another  magical  process,  was 
transfused  into  their  lifeless  carcasses.  The  bodies 
of  the  dogs  were  next  laid  upon  an  altar  of  wood, 
to  which  fire  was  applied,  and  the  whole  consumed  : 
the  masters  of  the  sacrifice  throwing  the  tobacco 
and  other  odoriferous  articles  into  the  flames,  the 
incense  ascending  from  which  was  supposed  to  be 
acceptable  to  the  Great  Spirit.  The  sacrifice  ended, 


356  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

the  people  all  partook  of  a  bountiful  feast,  the  chief 
article  of  which  was  succatash.  Then  followed  the 
war  and  peace  dances,  and  the  smoking  of  the  calu 
met.  Thus  refreshed,  and  relieved  from  the  burden 
of  sin — at  peace  with  the  Great  Spirit,  and  with  each 
other — the  warriors,  with  their  families,  returned, 
each  to  his  own  house,  prepared  to  enter  upon  the 
business  and  duties  of  another  year  ;  the  chiefs,  du 
ring  the  festival,  having  carefully  reviewed  the  past, 
and  adjusted  their  policy  for  the  future. 

Captain  Butler  having  returned  from  his  visit  to 
General  Haldimand,  with  permission  for  the  pro 
posed  exchange  of  prisoners,  the  colonel,  his  father, 
proceeded  to  the  Seneca  castle  to  negotiate  for  the 
release  of  Mrs.  Campbell.  The  family  by  whom  she 
had  been  adopted  were  very  reluctant  to  part  with 
her ;  but  after  the  holding  of  a  council,  the  strong 
appeals  of  Colonel  Butler,  who  was  anxious  for  the 
release  of  his  own  wife  and  family,  prevailed,  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  reached  Niagara  in  June,  1779. 
While  residing  there,  among  others  she  had  an  op 
portunity  of  seeing  the  celebrated  Catharine  Mon- 
tour,  whose  name  occurs  in  the  preceding  pages  in 
connexion  with  the  battle  of  Wyoming.  One  of  her 
two  sons,  who  had  signalized  themselves  at  Wy 
oming,  was  also  in  the  affair  at  Cherry  Valley. 

It  was  not  until  June  of  the  following  year  that 
Mrs.  Campbell  was  sent  from  Niagara  to  Montreal, 
on  her  way  home.  While  residing  at  the  former 
post,  the  Indians  having  been  driven  into  the  fort, 
she  was  enabled  to  recover  three  of  her  children. 
On  her  arrival  at  Montreal,  she  met  with  Mrs.  But 
ler  and  her  family,  who  had  been  previously  releas 
ed.  Here,  also,  and  in  charge  of  that  lady,  Mrs. 
Campbell  found  her  fourth  child,  a  little  son  who 
had  been  torn  from  her  in  the  Cherry  Valley  mas 
sacre.  He  was  dressed  in  the  green  uniform  of 
Butler's  rangers;  but  had  forgotten  the  English 
language,  speaking  nothing  but  Indian.  From  Mon 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  357 

treal  Mrs.  Campbell  was  sent,  to  Albany  by  the  way 
of  Lake  Champlain,  where  she  was  shortly  afterward 
joined  by  her  husband,  who  had  been  stationed  at 
Fort  Schuyler  most  of  the  time  during  her  captivity. 

The  destruction  of  Cherry  Valley  closed  the  war 
like  operations  of  both  nations  in  the  North  for  that 
year.  A  formidable  campaign  had,  indeed,  been 
projected  early  in  the  season,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  not  only  against  the  hostiles  of  the  Six  Na 
tions,  but  likewise  against  the  nations  more  remote, 
for  whom  Detroit  was  the  common  centre.  But  the 
larger  half  of  this  enterprise  had  been  abandoned 
after  the  irruption  into  Wyoming,  and  the  next  proj 
ect  contemplated  the  invasion  of  the  Seneca  coun 
try  by  way  of  the  Tioga  and  Chemung  Rivers.  In 
October  this  branch  of  the  project  was  likewise  de 
ferred,  at  the  suggestion  of  Generals  Gates  and 
Schuyler.  Thus  closed  the  Northern  campaigns  of 
1778.  The  British,  Tories,  and  Indians  went  into 
winter-quarters,  and  the  frontier  inhabitants  dispo 
sed  of  themselves  as  best  they  could. 

Much  has  been  said  in  the  traditions  of  Tryon 
county,  and  somewhat,  also,  in  the  courts  of  law, 
in  cases  involving  titles  to  real  estate  formerly  in 
the  family  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  respecting  the 
burial  of  an  iron  chest,  by  his  son,  Sir  John,  previous 
to  his  flight  to  Canada,  containing  the  most  valuable 
of  his  own  and  his  father's  papers.  Late  in  the 
autumn  of  the  present  year,  General  Haldimand,  at 
the  request  of  Sir  John,  sent  a  party  of  between  forty 
and  fifty  men  privately  to  Johnstown,  to  dig  up  and 
carry  the  chest  away.  The  expedition  was  suc 
cessful  ;  but  the  chest  not  being  sufficiently  tight  to 
prevent  the  influence  of  dampness  from  the  earth, 
the  papers  had  become  mouldy,  rotten,  and  illegible, 
when  taken  up.  The  information  respecting  this 
expedition  was  derived,  in  the  spring  following,  from 
a  man  named  Helmer,  who  composed  one  of  the 
party,  and  assisted  in  disinterring  the  chest.  Hel- 


358  BORDER    WARS    OP    THK 

mer  had  fled  to  Canada  with  Sir  John.  While  re 
tiring  from  Johnstown  with  the  chest,  he  injured  his 
ankle  ;  and  by  reason  of  his  lameness,  went  back  to 
his  father's  house,  where  he  remained  concealed 
until  spring,  when  he  was  arrested.  He  was  tried 
as  a  spy  by  a  court-martial,  at  Johnstown,  April  15, 
1779,  and  sentenced  to  death,  chiefly  on  his  own 
admissions  to  the  court.  A  considerable  number 
of  rather  summary  executions,  by  the  Whigs  of 
Tryon  county,  took  place  in  the  course  of  the  con 
test. 

The  leading  military  events  occurring  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  during  the  year  1778,  have 
already  been  incidentally  adverted  to,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  those  at  the  South.  In  the  course  of  the 
summer,  two  incursions  of  British  regulars  and 
American  refugees  had  been  made  from  Florida  into 
Georgia.  Both  expeditions  met  with  such  dis 
heartening  obstacles  as  to  induce  their  retreat  with 
out  accomplishing  more  than  the  destruction  of  the 
church,  dwelling-houses,  and  rice  fields  of  Midway. 
In  return  for  these  visitations,  General  Robert 
Howe  led  an  expedition  of  about  two  thousand  men, 
mostly  militia,  into  Florida.  He  captured  the  Brit 
ish  posts  on  the  St.  Mary's  River,  and  was  proceed 
ing  successfally,  when  his  march  was  arrested  by 
sickness  so  fatal  to  his  army  as  to  compel  a  re- 
linquishment  of  the  enterprise.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  year,  the  British  commander-in-chief  deter 
mined  to  strike  a  signal  blow  against  the  South. 
For  this  purpose,  an  expedition  of  two  thousand 
men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Campbell,  an 
officer  of  courage  and  ability,  embarked  at  New- 
York  on  the  27th  of  November,  destined  against 
Savannah.  General  Howe,  to  whom  the  defence 
of  Georgia  had  been  confided,  had  but  six  hun 
dred  regular  troops  and  a  few  hundred  militia  to 
oppose  the  invaders.  This  officer  had  taken  a  posi 
tion  between  the  landing  and  the  town,  where  a  bat- 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  359 

tie  was  fought  on  the  29th  of  December.  He  was 
outnumbered,  outgeneralled,  and  beaten,  with  a  loss 
of  one  hundred  killed.  The  town  and  fort  of  Sa 
vannah,  thirty-eight  officers,  four  hundred  and  fifteen 
privates,  twenty-three  mortars,  together  with  the 
shipping  in  the  river,  and  a  large  quantity  of  am 
munition  and  provisions,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
conquerors.  It  was  an  easy  victory  to  the  enemy, 
whose  loss  was  but  seven  killed  and  nineteen 
wounded. 

From  these  glimpses  of  the  events  of  the  year  1778, 
occurring  elsewhere  than  in  the  Indian  country,  it 
seems,  after  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  to  have  been 
a  season  of  comparative  inactivity  on  both  sides. 
Still,  having  repossessed  themselves  of  the  strong 
pass  of  the  Highlands,  immediately  after  the  return 
of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Commodore  Hotham  to 
New- York,  towards  the  close  of  the  preceding  year, 
no  lack  of  industry  was  exhibited  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans  in  strengthening  and  multiplying  its  de 
fences,  from  which  neither  force  nor  treachery  ever 
again  dislodged  them. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE  erection  of  an  advanced  post,  called  Fort 
Laurens,  on  the  Tuscarawa,  by  General  M'Intosh, 
who  was  directed  to  advance  upon  the  Indian  towns 
of  Sandusky,  has  been  mentioned  in  a  preceding 
chapter.  Colonel  Gibson,  who  had  been  left  in 
command  of  the  fort,  with  a  garrison  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men,  soon  found  his  position  rather 
uncomfortable,  by  reason  of  the  swarms  of  Indians 
hovering  about  the  precincts,  who  soon  became  so 
numerous  as  completely  to  invest  the  little  fortress 


360  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

The  first  hostile  demonstration  of  the  forest  war 
riors  was  executed  with  equal  cunning  and  success. 
The  horses  of  the  garrison  were  allowed  to  forage 
for  themselves  upon  the  herbage,  among  the  dried 
prairie-grass  immediately  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort, 
wearing  bells,  that  they  might  be  the  more  easily 
found,  if  straying  too  far.  It  happened,  one  morn 
ing  in  January,  that  the  horses  had  all  disappeared, 
but  the  bells  were  heard,  seemingly  at  no  great  dis 
tance.  They  had,  in  truth,  been  stolen  by  the  In 
dians,  and  conveyed  away.  The  bells,  however, 
were  taken  off,  and  used  for  another  purpose. 
Availing  themselves  of  the  tall  prairie-grass,  the 
Indians  formed  an  ambuscade,  at  the  farthest  ex 
tremity  of  which  they  caused  the  bells  to  jingle  as 
a  decoy.  The  artifice  was  successful.  A  party  of 
sixteen  men  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  straggling 
steeds,  who  fell  into  the  snare.  Fourteen  were 
killed  upon  the  spot,  and  the  remaining  two  taken 
prisoners,  one  of  whom  returned  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  of  the  other  nothing  was  ever  heard. 

Towards  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  whole  force 
of  the  Indians,  painted,  and  in  the  full  costume  of 
war,  presented  themselves  in  full  view  of  the  garri 
son,  by  marching  in  single  files,  though  at  a  respect 
ful  distance,  across  the  prairie.  Their  number,  ac 
cording  to  a  count  from  one  of  the  bastions,  was 
eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  ;  altogether  too  great 
to  be  encountered  in  the  field  by  so  small  a  garri 
son.  After  this  display  of  their  strength,  the  In 
dians  took  a  position  upon  an  elevated  piece  of 
ground  at  no  great  distance  from  the  fort,  though 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  In  this  situation 
they  remained  several  weeks,  in  a  state  rather  of 
armed  neutrality  than  of  active  hostility.  Some  of 
them  would  frequently  approach  the  fort  sufficiently 
near  to  hold  conversations  with  those  upon  the 
walls.  They  uniformly  professed  a  desire  for  peace, 
but  protested  against  the  encroachments  of  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  361 

white  people  upon  their  lands  ;  more  especially  was 
the  erection  of  a  fort  so  far  within  the  territory 
claimed  by  them  as  exclusively  their  own,  a  cause 
of  complaint,  nay,  of  admitted  exasperation.  There 
was  with  the  Americans  in  the  fort  an  aged  friend 
ly  Indian,  named  John  Thompson,  who  seemed  to 
be  in  equal  favour  with  both  parties,  visiting  the  In 
dian  encampment  at  pleasuie,  and  coming  and  going 
as  he  chose.  They  informed  Thompson  that  they 
deplored  the  continuance  of  hostilities,  and  finally 
sent  word  by  him  to  Colonel  Gibson  that  they  were 
desirous  of  peace,  and  if  he  would  present  them 
with  a  barrel  of  flour,  they  would  send  in  their  pro 
posals  the  next  day.  The  flour  was  sent,  but  the 
Indians,  instead  of  fulfilling  their  p\rt  of  the  stipula 
tion,  withdrew,  and  entirely  disappeared.  They 
had,  indeed,  continued  the  siege  as  long  as  they 
could  obtain  subsistence,  and  raised  it  only  because 
of  the  lack  of  supplies.  Still,  as  the  beleaguerment 
was  begun  in  stratagem,  so  was  it  ended.  Colonel 
Gibson's  provisions  were  also  running  short,  and, 
as  he  supposed  the  Indians  had  entirely  gone  off,  he 
directed  Colonel  Clark,  of  the  Pennsylvania  line, 
with  a  detachment  of  fifteen  men,  to  escort  the  in 
valids  of  the  garrison,  amounting  to  ten  or  a  dozen 
men,  back  to  Fort  M'Intosh.  But  the  Indians  had 
left  a  strong  party  of  observation  lurking  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  fort,  and  the  escort  had  pro 
ceeded  only  two  miles  before  it  was  fallen  upon, 
and  the  whole  number  killed  with  the  exception  of 
four,  one  of  whom,  a  captain,  escaped  back  to  the 
fort.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  were  interred  by  the 
garrison,  on  the  same  day,  with  the  honours  of  war. 
A  party  was  likewise  sent  out  to  collect  the  re 
mains  of  the  fourteen  who  had  first  fallen  by  the 
ambuscade,  and  bury  them. 

The  situation  of  the  garrison  was  now  becoming 
deplorable.  For  two  weeks  the  men  had  been  re 
duced  to  half  a  pound  of  sour  flour,  and  a  like  quan- 

VOL.  L— E  E 


362  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

tity  of  offensive  meat,  per  diem ;  and  for  a  week 
longer  they  were  compelled  to  subsist  only  upon 
raw  hides,  and  such  roots  as  they  could  find  in  the 
circumjacent  woods  and  prairies,  when  General 
M'Intosh  most  opportunely  arrived  to  their  relief, 
with  supplies,  and  a  re-enforcement  of  seven  hun 
dred  men.  But  still  they  came  near  being  imme 
diately  reduced  to  short  allowance  again,  by  an  un 
toward  accident  causing  the  loss  of  a  great  portion 
of  their  fresh  supplies.  These  supplies  were  trans 
ported  through  the  wilderness  upon  pack-horses. 
The  garrison,  overjoyed  at  the  arrival  of  succours, 
on  their  approach  to  within  about  a  hundred  yards 
of  the  fort  manned  the  parapets  and  fired  a  salute 
of  musketry.  But  the  horses,  young  in  the  service, 
were  affrighted  at  the  detonation  of  the  guns,  and 
broke  from  their  guides.  The  example  was  con 
tagious,  and  in  a  moment  more  the  whole  caval 
cade  of  pack-horses  were  bounding  into  the  woods 
at  full  gallop,  dashing  their  burdens  to  the  ground, 
and  scattering  them  over  many  a  rood  in  all  direc 
tions,  the  greater  portion  of  which  could  never  be 
recovered.  But  there  was  yet  enough  of  provisions 
saved  to  cause  the  mingling  of  evil  with  the  good. 
Very  incautiously,  the  officers  dealt  out  two  days' 
rations  per  man,  the  whole  of  which  was  devoured 
by  the  famishing  soldiers,  to  the  imminent  hazard 
of  the  lives  of  all,  and  resulting  in  the  severe  sick 
ness  of  many.  Leaving  the  fort  again,  General 
M'Intosh  assigned  the  command  to  Major  Vernon, 
who  remained  upon  the  station  several  months. 
He,  in  turn,  was  left  to  endure  the  horrors  of  fam 
ine,  until  longer  to  endure  was  death  ;  whereupon 
the  fort  was  evacuated  and  the  position  abandoned, 
its  occupation  and  maintenance,  at  the  cost  of  great 
tutiguc  and  suffering,  and  the  expense  of  many  lives, 
having  been  not  ofthe  least  service  to  the  country. 
But,  notwithstanding  fhc  n^tov/'ird  result  of  Gen 
eral  M*Intosh's  expedition,  the  Indian  branch  of  the 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  363 

service  opened  auspiciously  the  present  year  else 
where,  and  first  in  a  region  yet  deeper  in  the  West 
than  Fort  Laurens.  Colonel  Hamilton,  the  British 
lieutenant-governor  of  Detroit,  a  rough,  bad-tem 
pered,  and  cruel  officer,  who  had  signalized  himself 
oy  the  exertion  of  a  malignant  influence  over  the 
Indians,  and  had  provoked  them  to  take  up  the 
hatchet  against  the  Americans  by  every  possible 
means — instigating  them  to  deeds  of  blood  by  large 
rewards — had  projected  a  powerful  Indian  expedi 
tion  against  the  Virginia  frontier,  to  be  executed 
early  in  the  spring.  With  this  design,  at  the  close 
of  the  preceding  autumn  Hamilton  left  Detroit,  and 
took  post  at  St.  Vincent's,  on  the  Wabash,  in  order 
to  act  earlier  and  more  efficiently  immediately  after 
the  breaking  up  of  winter.  But  his  purpose  was 
most  happily  defeated  by  a  blow  from  a  direction 
which  he  did  not  anticipate.  Colonel  Clarke,  who 
was  yet  with  a  small  force  in  command  of  Kaskas- 
kias,  having  learned  in  February  that  Hamilton  had 
weakened  himself  by  despatching  many  of  his  In 
dians  in  different  directions  to  annoy  the  frontiers 
of  the  states,  formed  the  bold  resolution  of  attack 
ing  him  in  his  quarters.  After  a  difficult,  movement 
by  land  and  water,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  men,  Clarke  suddenly  arrived  before  St.  Vin 
cent's.  The  town  at  once  submitted,  and  on  the" 
following  day  Colonel  Hamilton  and  the  garrison 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war.  It  was 
the  good  fortune  of  Colonel  Clarke,  also,  to  inter 
cept  and  capture  a  valuable  convoy  of  provisions 
and  stores  coming  to  St.  Vincent's  from  Detroit. 
Hamilton  was  transferred  to  Virginia,  where  the 
Council  of  the  Commonwealth  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  the  inhuman  conduct  imputed  to  him,  and  his 
confinement  in  irons,  on  a  diet  of  bread  and  water, 
was  recommended.  The  plans  of  the  enemy  were 
not  a  little  disconcerted  by  this  small,  though  brill 
iant  affair;  and  peace  with  several  of  the  Indian 


364  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

tribes  in  that  direction  was  the  immediate  conse. 
qUTenCthe  mean  time,  and  before  this  disaster  befell 


*  On  the  9th  of  April,  1779, 
the  commission  of  captain  to  four  of  the  One  ^  tbe  then  pnnci. 

and  eight  commissions  of  .  l^  ^^  ^  Commissioned  a  lieuten- 
pal  Oneida  chief,  Louis  Atayatarouhta  ^  afteward  called> 

ant-colonel.     Louis,  or      Colonel  Louis,    a  indian  negro> 

was  the  representative  of  three  races  b^sgiQPs  w 


rank 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  365 

accordingly  done,  by  the  transmission  of  a  large 
olafrk  belt  of  wampum.  The  Onondagas  replied, 
"  That  they  were  very  glad  to  hear  the  resolution 
which  their  children,  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras, 
had  made,  and  were  determined  to  join  them  to  op 
pose  any  invader." 

The  Onondagas  farther  engaged,  upon  their  re 
turn  home,  to  effect  a  final  separation  in  their  tribe, 
and  insist  that  every  one  should  declare  for  one 
side  or  the  other.  The  conduct  of  most  of  the 
Onondagas  had  been  from  the  first  equivocal,  often 
openly  hostile.  But  those  present  at  this  council 
manifested  a  better  feeling,  and  joined  in  the  request 
of  the  Oneidas  for  troops  to  aid  in  their  protection. 
The  Oneidas,  on  this  occasion,  placed  great  confi 
dence  in  the  professions  of  their  Onondaga  breth 
ren,  and  were  in  high  spirits  at  the  result  of  the 
council. 

There  was  other  evidence,  not  only  of  the  inten 
tion  of  Thayendanegea  to  make  a  powerful  Indian 
descent  upon  the  Mohawk  during  this  winter,  but 
of  the  supposed  fidelity  of  these  Onondagas  to  the 
United  States.  About  the  middle  of  February, 
General  Clinton  having,  through  various  channels, 
and  by  several  expresses,  received  information  at 
Albany  of  such  a  design,  marched  to  Schenectady 
with  Colonel  Van  Schaick's  regiment,  ordering  the 
latter  as  far  up  the  Mohawk  as  Caughnawaga,  there 
to  await  the  event.  On  the  26th  of  February,  Cap 
tain  Copp,  of  Fort  Van  Dyck,  wrote  to  Captain  Gra 
ham,  then  in  charge  of  Fort  Schuyler,  announcing 
that  two  of  the  Oneida  messengers,  of  distinguished 
(Indian)  families,  had  just  returned  from  Niagara, 
where  they  had  obtained  positive  evidence  of  Brant's 
purpose.  The  Mohawk  chief  had  received  express 
es  announcing  that  the  Shawanese  and  Delawares 
were  to  strike  a  simultaneous  blow  upon  the  fron 
tier  of  Virginia  ;*  and  Brant  himself  was  to  lead 

*  The  project  of  Colonel  Hamilton,  frustrated  by  his  capture. 


366  BORDER    WARS    OF    TW 

the  main  expedition  direct  to  the  Moh  i.«^ ,  '  /.lie, 
another  diversion  was  to  be  created  by  sending  a 
smaller  force  round  by  the  Unadilla,  to  fail  upon  the 
settlements  of  Schoharie.  In  regard  to  the  fidelity 
of  the  Onondagas,  it  was  stated  by  the  Oneida 
chiefs  that  fourteen  of  that  nation  had  been  de 
spatched  to  Niagara  by  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe,  to 
persuade  their  brethren,  who  had  taken  up  the  hatch 
et  with  the  Mohawks,  to  return.  But  these  four 
teen  messengers  had  not  been  permitted  to  come 
back  themselves,  and  the  Onondagas  were  appre 
hensive  that  they  and  all  their  people  at  Niagara 
had  been  made  prisoners.  The  uneasiness  in  Tryon 
county  was  greatly  increased  under  these  circum 
stances.  Major  Jelles  Fonda  wrote  to  General 
Clinton  that  there  were  yet  three  hundred  Tory 
families  in  the  northern  part  of  that  settlement,  af 
fording  aid  and  comfort  to  the  hostile  refugees,  who 
kept  up  a  continual  intercourse  with  them,  across 
through  the  woods,  or  by  Lake  Champlain  to  Canada. 
For  greater  security,  therefore,  he  urged  permission 
to  build  a  strong  blockhouse,  and  station  fifty  ran 
gers  within  it,  on  the  Sacondaga  River,  directly  north 
of  Johnstown. 

Captain  Brant,  however,  either  abandoned  or  de 
ferred  the  threatened  invasion.  The  winter,  conso 
quently,  passed  away  without  any  serious  disturb 
ance  in  that  region.  But,  notwithstanding  all  the 
fair  professions  of  the  Onondagas,  their  treachery 
had  become  alike  so  manifest  and  so  injurious  as  to 
render  it  expedient,  immediately  on  the  opening  of 
the  spring,  to  make  them  a  signal  example  to  their 
red  brethren.  Accordingly,  early  in  April  an  expe 
dition  was  detailed  upon  this  service  by  General 
Clinton,  with  the  approbation  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  consisting  of  detachments  from  the  regiments 
of  Colonels  Van  Schaick  and  Gansevoort,  to  the 
number  of  five  hundred  men,  under  the  conduct  of 
the  former.  The  troops  were  moved  as  expedi 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTIOiN  36? 

tiously  as  possible  to  Fort  Schuyler,  and  thirty  bat- 
teaux  were  simultaneously  ordered  thither  to  trans 
port  them  down  Wood  Creek,  and  through  the  Onei- 
da  Lake  to  Three  Rivers,  Colonel  Van  Schaick's 
instructions  were  very  full  and  explicit  upon  every 
point.  The  design  was  to  proceed  as  rapidly  and 
cautiously  as  possible,  in  order  to  take  the  Indians 
by  surprise  ;  for  which  purpose,  on  the  morning  of 
the  departure  of  the  expedition,  it  was  to  be  an 
nounced  that  its  destination  was  against  Oswego. 
Colonel  Van  Schaick  was  directed  to  burn  and  ut 
terly  destroy  the  village  and  castle  of  the  Ononda- 
gas,  together  with  all  their  cattle  and  effects  ;  but 
he  was  strictly  enjoined  to  make  as  many  prisoners 
as  possible,  and  put  none  to  death  who  could  be 
taken  alive.  The  following  passage  occurs  in  the 
instructions  of  General  Clinton  on  this  occasion, 
which  is  worthy  of  preservation  :  "  Bad  as  the  sav 
ages  are,  they  never  violate  the  chastity  of  any 
women,  their  prisoners.  Although  I  have  very  lit 
tle  apprehension  that  any  of  the  soldiers  will  so  far 
forget  their  character  as  to  attempt  such  a  crime 
on  the  Indian  women  who  may  fall  into  their  hands, 
yet  it  wrill  be  well  to  take  measures  to  prevent  such 
a  stain  upon  our  army."  This  injunction  speaks 
volumes  in  praise  of  the  soldier  who  wrote  it. 

The  orders  to  Colonel  Van  Schaick  were  issued 
on  the  9th  of  April,  and  so  rapidly  were  the  neces 
sary  arrangements  expedited,  that  everything  was 
in  readiness  for  the  departure  from  Fort  Schuyler 
on  the  18th.  During  the  evening  of  that  day,  the 
batteaux,  with  the  necessary  stores,  were  silently 
removed  across  the  carrying-place  to  Wood  Creek, 
and  all  things  there  placed  in  order.  The  troops 
were  early  in  motion  on  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
and  a  thick  mist  contributed  essentially  in  covering 
the  movement,  had  there  been  any  spies  lurking 
about  to  make  observation.  The  number  of  men 
embarked,  including  officers,  was  five  hundred  and 


368  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

fifty-eight.  Their  progress  to  the  Oneida  Lake  was 
considerably  impeded,  by  reason  of  trees  which  had 
fallen  across  the  creek,  so  that  much  of  the  first 
day's  journey  was  performed  by  the  troops  on  foot. 
The  passage  of  the  Oneida  Lake  was  effected  as  ex- 
peditiously  as  possible  ;  and  although  they  encoun 
tered  a  strong  and  excessively  disagreeable  head 
wind,  they  nevertheless  reached  the  Onondaga  Land 
ing,  opposite  to  old  Fort  Brewington,  with  the  whole 
flotilla,  by  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  20th. 
Leaving  a  suitable  guard  with  the  boats,  the  little 
army  pushed  immediately  forward,  and,  despite  the 
obstacles  in  traversing  a  deep-tangled  forest,  the 
soil  resembling  a  morass,  they  marched  nine  miles 
without  halting.  The  night  was  dark,  wet,  and 
cold ;  but  knowing  well  the  wariness  of  the  enemy 
and  the  celerity  of  their  movements,  and  how  fre 
quently  they  were  prepared  to  strike  when  least 
expected,  the  troops  were  necessarily  precluded 
from  kindling  fires,  and  obliged  to  sleep  on  their 
arms.  The  march  was  resumed  very  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st,  and,  in  order  to  save  time,  they 
were  obliged  to  ford  an  arm  of  the  Onondaga  Lake, 
about  two  hundred  yards  wide  and  four  feet  in  depth. 
Arriving  at  the  estuary  of  Onondaga  Creek,  at  the 
head  of  the  lake,  Captain  Graham,  commanding  the 
advanced  guard,  captured  one  of  the  warriors  of  the 
tribe ;  and  although  they  were  now  within  two  or 
three  miles  of  the  village  and  castle,  this  was  the  first 
Indian  seen,  or  who  was  apprized  of  the  approach  of 
the  expedition.  Captain  Graham  was  now  directed 
again  to  advance  with  all  possible  rapidity  and  cau 
tion,  for  the  purpose  of  surrounding  the  lower  castle, 
while  the  residue  of  the  main  force  was  divided  into 
small  detachments,  and  hurried  forward  for  the  pur 
pose  of  falling  upon  the  other  towns  in  such  rapid 
succession  as,  if  possible,  to  take  all  the  villages  by 
surprise.  This  chain  of  villages  extended  through 
the  valley  of  the  Onondaga  Creek  for  the  distance 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  369 

of  ten  miles.  The  tribe  had  once  been  among  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Aganuschioni,  or  confeder 
ated  people  of  the  Five  Nations.  Situated  in  the 
centre  of  the  confederacy,  to  the  Onondagas,  time 
immemorial,  had  been  committed  the  keeping  of  the 
great  council  fire.  This  fire  had  been  extinguished 
in  1G92  by  Count  Frontenac,  who  then  came  against 
it  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  expedition  from  Mon 
treal,  and  utterly  destroyed  the  village.  It  had  again 
been  put  out  in  the  spring  of  1777,  and  was  now 
doomed  to  a  third  extinction,  equally  summary  and 
complete  with  the  former.  But  although  the  expe 
dition  of  Colonel  Van  Schaick  had  been  thus  far, 
and  was  throughout,  admirably  conducted,  the  sur 
prise  was  not  as  complete  as  had  been  intended. 
While  Captain  Graham's  company  was  securing  a 
few  prisoners  taken  in  the  outskirts  of  the  village, 
near  the  principal  castle,  means  were  found  by  the 
wily  adversary  to  give  the  alarm  in  advance.  The 
tidings,  of  course,  rlew  from  village  to  village  with 
greater  rapidity  than  the  several  detachments  of 
troops  could  equal,  and  the  Indians  scattered  off  to 
the  woods  in  all  directions.  But  such  was  the  pre 
cipitancy  of  their  flight,  that  they  carried  nothing 
with  them,  not  even  their  arms.  Still,  thirty-three 
of  their  number  were  taken  prisoners,  and  twelve 
killed.  Three  villages,  consisting  of  about  fifty 
houses,  were  burned  to  the  ground,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions,  consisting  chiefly  of  beans 
and  corn,  destroyed.  Nearly  one  hundred  muskets 
were  taken  among  the  booty,  and  several  rifles,  to 
gether  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  ammunition. 
Their  swivel  at  the  council-house  was  rendered 
useless,  and  their  cattle  and  horses  were  destroyed. 
The  work  of  destruction  having  been  completed, 
the  detachment  immediately  commenced  its  return 
to  Fort  Schuyler.  It  was  fired  upon  in  the  after 
noon  by  a  small  party  of  Indians  in  the  woods,  but 
without  injury,  while  one  of  the  enemy  fell  by  the 


370  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

return  fire.  On  Saturday,  the  24th,  the  troops  were 
aK  back  again  at  Fort  Schuyler,  having  performed 
a  journey,  going  and  returning,  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  miles,  and  effected  their  object  without  the 
loss  of  a  single  man. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  from  the  very  imperfect 
data  afforded  by  written  history,  this  expedition 
against  the  Onondagas  appears  like  a  harsh,  if  not 
an  unnecessary  measure.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
professions  of  this  nation,  those  in  the  direction  of 
public  affairs  at  that  period  unquestionably  felt  its 
chastisement  to  be  a  work  of  stern  necessity.  Gen 
eral  Schuyler  had  written  that,  unless  some  exem 
plary  blow  should  be  inflicted  upon  the  hostiles  of  the 
Six  Nations,  Schenectady  wTould  shortly  become  the 
boundary  of  the  American  settlements  in  that  direc 
tion.  The  enterprise  had,  moreover,  the  sanction 
of  the  commander-in-chief ;  while  nothing  could  be 
more  humane,  in  regard  to  a  warlike  expedition, 
than  the  instructions  of  General  Clinton. 

It  is,  perhaps,  a  coincidence  worth  noting,  that  on 
the  very  day  on  which  Colonel  Van  Schaick  depart 
ed  from  Fort  Schuyler  for  Onondaga,  the  lower  sec 
tion  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  was  thrown  into  alarm 
by  the  sudden  appearance  of  an  Indian  force  simul 
taneously  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Palatine.  On  the  south  side,  a  party  rushed 
down  upon  the  settlement,  took  three  prisoners,  to 
gether  with  several  horses,  and  drove  the  inhabi 
tants  into  Fort  Plank.  At  the  very  same  hour,  an 
other  division  of  the  savages  made  a  descent  upon 
the  back  part  of  Stone-Arabia,  where,  in  the  onset, 
they  burned  two  houses  and  murdered  one  man. 
The  next  house  in  their  course  belonged  to  Captain 
Richer.  The  occupants  were  Richer,  his  wife  and 
two  sons,  and  an  old  man.  The  captain  and  his  two 
boys,  being  armed,  on  the  near  approach  of  the  In 
dians  gave  them  a  warm  reception.  A  sharp  action 
ensued.  The  old  man,  being  unarmed,  was  killed; 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  371 

as  also  was  one  of  the  brave  boys,  a  lad  seventeen 
years  of  age.  Captain  Richer  was  severely  wound 
ed,  and  his  arm  was  broken ;  his  other  son  was 
also  wounded  in  the  elbow,  and  his  wife  in  one  of 
her  legs.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  that  the  whole 
garrison  was  either  killed  or  wounded,  the  Indians 
retreated  on  the  loss  of  two  of  their  number. 

On  the  same  day,  a  party  of  Senecas  appeared  in 
Schoharie,  made  prisoners  of  Mr.  Lawyer  and  Mr. 
Cowley,  and  plundered  their  houses.  The  panic 
was  again  general ;  the  people  flying  to  the  forts  for 
safety,  and  the  Committee  of  Palatine  writing  im 
mediately  to  General  Clinton,  at  Albany,  for  assist 
ance.  The  general  was  an  officer  of  great  activity, 
and  so  rapidly  did  he  move  in  cases  of  alarm,  that 
he  traversed  the  Mohawk  Valley  with  Colonel 
Gansevoort's  regiment  and  the  Schenectady  militia, 
and  was  back  at  Albany  again  on  the  28th.  The 
Indians  who  appeared  on  the  south  side  were  from 
the  West ;  those  on  the  north  side  were  Mohawks 
from  Canada.  General  Clinton,  in  his  despatches 
to  the  governor,  his  brother,  expressed  an  opinion 
that,  but  for  his  timely  movement  on  that  occasion, 
the  enemy  would  have  driven  the  settlements  all  in 
upon  Schenectady. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  Lieutenants  M'Clellan  and 
Hardenburgh  returned  to  Fort  Schuyler  from  an  un 
successful  expedition,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  In 
dians,  against  the  small  British  garrison  at  Oswe- 
gatchie.  It  was  their  intention  to  take  the  fort  by 
surprise ;  but,  falling  in  prematurely  with  some 
straggling  Indians,  several  shots  were  imprudently 
exchanged,  by  reason  of  which  their  approach  be 
came  known  to  the  garrison.  They  then  attempted 
by  stratagem  to  draw  the  enemy  from  the  fort,  and 
partly  succeeded,  but  could  not  induce  them  to  ven- 
ture  far  enough  from  their  works  to  cut  them  off; 
and  on  approaching  the  fort  themselves,  the  assail 
ants  were  so  warmly  received  by  cannister  and 


372  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

grape  as  to  be  compelled  to  retreat  without  unne 
cessary  delay.  The  only  service  performed  was  to 
send  a  Caughnawaga  Indian  into  Canada  with  a  let 
ter  in  French,  by  "  a  French  general,"  probably  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette,  addressed  to  the  Canadians, 
and  written  in  the  preceding  autumn.  This  expe 
dition  was  despatched  from  Fort  Schuyler  on  the 
daybefoie  Colonel  Van  Schaick  moved  upon  Onon- 
daga  ;  and,  from  a  letter  addressed  by  General  Clin 
ton,  six  weeks  afterward,  to  General  Sullivan,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  one  object  was  to  get  clear  of 
the  Oneida  Indians  then  in  the  fort,  until  Colonel 
Van  Schaick  should  have  proceeded  so  far  upon  his 
expedition  that  they  or  their  people  would  not  be 
able  to  give  the  Onondagas  notice  of  his  approach. 
All  the  Indians  still  remaining  in  Fort  Schuyler  on 
the  17th  were  detained  expressly  for  that  object  of 
precaution.  General  Clinton  conceded  their  use 
fulness  as  scouts  and  spies  upon  the  British  forces  ; 
but,  he  observed,  "  Their  attachment  to  one  another 
is  too  strong  to  admit  of  their  being  of  any  service 
when  employed  against  their  fellows."  This  testi 
mony  is  certainly  not  discreditable  to  the  Indian 
character  as  such. 

The  Onondagas,  fired  with  indignation  at  the  de 
struction  of  their  villages  and  castle,  and  the  put 
ting  out  of  the  great  council-fire  which  they  had  so 
long  kept  burning  at  their  national  altar,  resolved 
upon  summary  vengeance.  To  this  end,  three  hun 
dred  of  their  warriors  were  speedily  upon  the  war 
path,  bending  their  steps  to  the  valley  of  the  Scho- 
harie  Kill.  The  settlement  of  Cobleskill,  which 
had  suffered  so  severely  the  preceding  year,  situated 
about  ten  miles  west  of  the  Schoharie  Kill,  and  yet 
comprising  nineteen  German  families,  was  the  first 
object  of  attack.  But  they  were  prevented  from 
taking  the  place  by  surprise,  in  consequence  of  two 
of  their  number  straggling  a  considerable  distance 
in  advance  of  the  main  body,  who  were  discovered 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  373 

by  a  scout  of  two  of  the  Cobleskill  militia.  One  of 
the  Indians  was  shot,  and  the  other  fled ;  and  the 
scouts  hastened  home  to  give  the  alarm.  Intelli 
gence  of  the  enemy's  approach  was  immediately 
despatched  to  Schoharie,  with  a  request  for  assist 
ance.  A  captain  of  the  Continental  army  was 
thereupon  sent  to  Cobleskill  with  a  detachment  of 
regular  troops.  On  the  following  morning  a  party 
of  Indians  sallied  out  of  the  woods,  and  after  ap 
proaching  the  settlement,  suddenly  returned.  They 
were  pursued  by  a  small  detachment  of  troops  to  the 
edge  of  the  forest,  where  their  reception  was  so 
sharp  as  to  compel  a  retreat.  The  captain  himself 
immediately  marched  to  the  scene  of  action  with 
the  whole  of  his  little  band,  together  with  fifteen 
volunteers  of  the  militia.  The  Indians  receded  be 
fore  the  whites  for  a  time,  and  continued  the  decep 
tion  by  showing  themselves  at  first  in  small  num 
bers  on  the  skirt  of  the  forest,  until  they  had  accom 
plished  the  identical  purpose  they  had  in  view.  The 
captain  and  his  men  pursued,  without  any  knowl 
edge  of  the  disparity  of  numbers  they  had  to  en 
counter,  until  the  Indians  had  drawn  them  sufficient 
ly  within  their  toils  to  make  a  stand.  Their  num 
bers  now  multiplied  rapidly,  and  the  battle  became 
animated.  The  captain  fell  wounded,  and  was  soon 
afterward  killed.  His  men,  panic-stricken,  instant 
ly  fled ;  but  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  a  cloud  of 
several  hundred  savages,  until  then  in  concealment, 
rose  up  on  all  sides  of  them,  pouring  ::n  a  deadly 
shower  of  rifle  balls,  and  making  the  forest  ring 
with  their  appalling  yells.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
settlement,  on  perceiving  the  disaster  which  had  be 
fallen  the  troops,  fled  in  the  direction  of  Schoharie 
with  a  portion  of  the  fugitive  soldiers.  Their  flight 
was  facilitated,  or,  rather,  they  were  prevented  from 
being  overtaken,  by  seven  of  the  captain's  brave 
fellows,  who  took  possession  of  a  deserted  house, 
and  made  a  resolute  defence.  From  the  windows 


374  BORDER  WARS  OF  THE 

of  their  castle  they  fired  briskly  upon  the  Indians, 
and,  bringing  them  to  a  pause,  detained  them  until 
the  inhabitants  had  made  good  their  flight  to  Scho- 
harie.  Unable  to  drive  the  soldiers  from  the  house, 
the  Indians  at  length  applied  the  brand,  and  the 
brave  fellows  were  burned  to  death  within  its  walls. 
The  whole  settlement  was  then  plundered  and  burn 
ed  by  the  Indians.  But  they  did  not  proceed  farther 
towards  Schoharie.  The  loss  of  the  whites  was 
twenty-two  killed  and  two  taken  prisoners.  The 
bodies  of  the  slain  were  found  the  next  day,  sadly 
mutilated ;  and  in  the  hand  of  one  of  them  the  Indians 
had  placed  a  roll  of  Continental  bills,  a  severe  satire 
upon  the  description  of  money  for  which  the  soldiers 
were  serving.  The  great  fact,  however,  that  it  was 
the  CAUSE,  and  not  the  PAY,  which  kept  the  Amer 
icans  in  the  field,  could  scarcely  be  appreciated  by 
the  forest  warriors.  They  were  led  in  this  battle  by 
a  Tory,  who  was  subsequently  killed  by  the  cele 
brated  Murphy.  Their  loss  was  severe,  but  to  what 
extent  was  not  known.  Thus  was  amply  avenged 
the  destruction  of  Onondaga. 

During  the  month  of  April,  the  inhabitants  of  Mo- 
nongalia,  on  the  northwestern  Virginia  border  and 
the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Pitt,  had  been  severely  harassed  by  the  In 
dians,  and  numbers  of  the  people  murdered.  These 
individual  murders  were  the  more  cruel,  inasmuch 
as  they  could  have  no  effect  upon  the  result  of  the 
pending  contest.  The  snatching  away  of  prisoners 
by  these  petty  expeditions  was  a  different  affair; 
and  often  served  a  twofold  purpose,  enabling  the 
enemy  frequently  to  extort  information,  and,  by  a 
silent  operation,  continually  increasing  the  number 
of  prisoners  in  their  hands  for  exchange.  But, 
whether  murdered  outright  or  carried  into  captivity, 
the  trials  of  the  inhabitants  upon  a  frontier,  thus 
hourly  exposed  to  dangers  of  the  most  appalling  de 
scription,  can  scarcely  be  appreciated  by  those  who 
have  not  been  plncerl  in  similar  peril 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  375 

The  frontier  towns  of  the  comity  of  Ulster  were 
likewise  not  a  little  annoyed,  in  the  early  part  of 
May,  by  a  detachment  of  thirty  or  forty  of  Butler's 
rangers,  who,  from  their  knowledge  of  the  country, 
were  supposed  to  have  fled  to  the  royal  standard 
from  that  neighbourhood.  On  the  4th  of  May,  four 
dwelling-houses  and  five  barns  were  burned  by  them 
in  Famine  Kill.  Six  of  the  inhabitants  were  mur 
dered,  besides  three  or  four  more  who  were  sup 
posed  to  be  burned  in  their  houses.  Colonel  Philip 
Van  Courtlandt,  stationed  at  that  time  with  one  of 
the  New-York  regiments  at  Warwasing,  went  in 
pursuit  of  the  traitors  ;  but  although  he  twice  came 
in  sight  of  them-  upon  the  crest  of  a  mountain,  they 
were  too  dexterous  in  thridding  the  forests  to  allow 
him  to  overtake  them  ;  and  the  colonel  had  scarcely 
turned  back  from  the  pursuit  before  they  fell  upon 
the  town  of  Woodstock,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Kingston,  where  they  burned  several  houses  and 
committed  other  depredations.  They  made  a  few 
prisoners,  some  of  whom  were  carried  away  ;  while 
others  were  compelled,  by  the  upraised  hatchet,  to 
take  an  oath  not  to  serve  in  arms  against  the  king. 

In  order  to  preserve  unbroken  a  narrative  of  the 
principal  Indian  campaign  of  the  present  year,  it  is 
necessary  somewhat  to  anticipate  the  progress  of 
events,  by  recording  in  this  place  the  particulars  of 
the  celebrated  invasion  of  Minisink,  and  the  bloody 
battle  that  immediately  ensued  near  the  Delaware.* 
The  brave  Count  Pulaski,  with  his  battalion  of  cav 
alry,  had  been  stationed  at  Minisink  during  the  pre 
ceding  winter  ;  but  in  the  month  of  February  he  was 
ordered  to  South  Carolina,  to  join  the  army  of  Gen- 

*  Miuisink,  for  an  inland  American  town,  is  very  ancient.  It  is  situa- 
tod  about  ten  miles  west  of  Goshen,  in  the  county  of  Orange  (N.  Y.),  on 
the  Nav'sink  River,  and  among  what  an,-  called  the  Shawangunk  Mount 
ains.  It  is  bordered  on  the  southwest  by  both  the  States  of  New- Jersey 
.UK!  Pennsylvania.  The  Wallkill  also  rises  in  this  town.  Its  history, 
previous  to  the  v/ar  of  the  Revolution,  is  full  of  interest.  A  severe  bat- 
t'r,  was  fought  with  the  Indians  in  Minisink,  July  22.  1069,  the  bloody 
horrors  of  which  yet  live  in  the  traditions  of  that  neighbourhood. 


376  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

eral  Lincoln.  Left"  thus  wholly  unprotected,  save 
by  its  own  people,  Captain  Brant  determined  to 
make  a  descent  upon  it,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
both  plunder  and  prisoners.  Accordingly,  on  the 
20th  of  July,  or,  rather,  during  the  night  of  the  19th, 
the  crafty  Mohawk  stole  upon  the  slumbering  town, 
at  the  head  of  sixty  Indians  and  twenty-seven  Tory 
warriors  disguised  as  Indians,  which  was  a  very 
common  practice  with  the  Loyalists  when  acting 
with  the  savages.  This  was  only  a  detachment  of 
a  much  larger  force  which  Brant  had  left  among  the 
mountains  between  Minisink  and  the  Delaware. 
Such  was  the  silence  of  their  approach,  that  sever 
al  houses  were  already  in  flames  when  the  inhabi 
tants  awoke  to  their  situation.  Thus  surprised,  and 
wholly  unprepared,  all  who  could  escape  fled  in 
consternation,  leaving  the  invaders  to  riot  upon  the 
spoil.  Ten  houses  and  twelve  barns  were  burned, 
together  with  a  small  stockade  fort  and  two  mills. 
Several  persons  were  killed,  and  others  taken  pris 
oners.  The  farms  of  the  settlement  were  laid 
waste,  the  cattle  driven  away,  and  all  the  booty  car 
ried  off  which  the  invaders  could  remove.  Having 
thus  succeeded  in  his  immediate  object,  Brant  lost 
no  time  in  leading  his  party  back  to  the  main  body 
of  his  warriors,  whom  he  had  left  at  Grassy  Brook. 
No  sooner  had  the  fugitives  from  Minisink  arri 
ved  at  Goshen  with  the  intelligence,  than  Dr.  Tusten, 
the  colonel  of  the  local  militia,  issued  orders  to  the 
officers  of  his  command  to  meet  him  at  Minisink  on 
the  following  day,  with  as  many  volunteers  as  they 
could  raise.  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and 
a  body  of  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  men  met  their 
colonel  at  the  designated  rendezvous  at  the  time 
appointed,  including  many  of  the  principal  gentle 
men  of  the  county.  A  council  of  war  was  held  to 
determine  upon  the  expediency  of  a  pursuit.  Colonel 
Tusten  was  himself  opposed  to  the  proposition,  with 
so  feeble  a  command,  and  with  the  certainty,  if  they 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  377 

overtook  the  enemy,  of  being  obliged  to  encounter 
an  officer  combining,  with  his  acknowledged  prow 
ess,  so  much  of  subtlety  as  characterized  the  move 
ments  of  the  Mohawk  chief.  His  force,  moreover, 
was  believed  to  be  greatly  superior  to  theirs  in  num 
bers,  and  to  include  many  Tories  as  well  acquaint 
ed  with  the  country  as  themselves.  The  colonel, 
therefore,  preferred  waiting  for  the  re-enforcements 
which  would  be  sure  soon  to  arrive,  the  more  espe 
cially  as  the  volunteers  already  with  him  were  but 
ill  provided  with  arms  and  ammunition.  Others, 
however,  were  for  immediate  pursuit.  They  affect 
ed  to  hold  the  Indians  in  contempt,  insisted  that  they 
would  not  fight,  and  maintained  that  a  recapture  of 
the  plunder  they  had  taken  would  be  an  easy  achieve 
ment.  Town-meeting  counsels  in  the  conduct  of 
war  are  not  usually  the  wisest,  as  will  appear  in  the 
sequel.  The  majority  of  Tusten's  command  were 
evidently  determined  to  pursue  the  enemy  ;  but  their 
deliberations  were  cut  short  by  Major  Meeker,  who 
mounted  his  horse,  flourished  his  sword,  and  vaunt- 
ingly  called  out,  "  Let  the  brave  men  follow  me,  the 
cowards  may  stay  behind  !"  It  may  readily  be  sup 
posed  that  such  an  appeal  to  an  excited  multitude 
would  decide  the  question,  as  it  did.  The  line  of 
march  was  immediately  taken  up,  and  after  pro 
ceeding  seventeen  miles  the  same  evening,  they  en 
camped  for  the  night.  On  the  morning  of  the  22d 
they  were  joined  by  a  small  re-enforcement  under 
Colonel  Hathorn,  of  the  Warwick  regiment,  who, 
as  the  senior  of  Colonel  Tusten,  took  the  command. 
When  they  had  advanced  a  few  miles,  to  Halfway 
Brook,  they  came  upon  the  Indian  encampment  of 
the  preceding  night,  and  another  council  was  held 
there.  Colonels  Hathorn,  Tusten,  and  others,  whose 
valour  was  governed  by  prudence,  were  opposed  to 
advancing  farther,  as  the  number  of  Indian  fires,  and 
the  extent  of  ground  they  had  occupied,  removed 
all  doubt  as  to  the  superiority  of  their  numbers.  A 
VOL.  I.— F  F 


378  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

scene  similar  to  that  which  had  broken  up  the  for- 
mer  council  was  acted  at  this  place,  and  with  the 
same  result.  The  voice  of  prudence  was  compelled 
to  yield  to  that  of  bravado. 

Captain  Tyler,  who  had  some  knowledge  of  the 
woods,  was  sent  forward  at  the  head  of  a  small 
scouting  party,  to  follow  the  trail  of  the  Indians,  and 
to  ascertain,  if  possible,  their  movements,  since 
it  was  evident  that  they  could  not  be  far  in  ad 
vance.  The  captain  had  proceeded  but  a  short  dis 
tance  before  he  fell  from  the  fire  of  an  unseen  ene 
my.  This  circumstance  occasioned  considerable 
alarm ;  but  the  volunteers,  nevertheless,  pressed 
eagerly  forward,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
emerged  upon  the  hills  of  the  Delaware,  in  full  view 
of  that  river,  upon  the  eastern  bank  of  which,  at  the 
distance  of  three  fourths  of  a  mile,  the  Indians  were 
seen  deliberately  marching  in  the  direction  of  a 
fording-place  near  the  mouth  of  the  Lackawaxen. 
This  discovery  was  made  at  about  9  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  intention  of  Brant  to  cross  at  the 
fording-place  was  evident ;  and  it  was  afterward  as 
certained  that  his  booty  had  already  been  sent  thith 
er  in  advance. 

The  determination  was  immediately  formed  by 
Colonel  Hathorn  to  intercept  the  enemy  at  the  ford 
ing-place,  for  which  purpose  instant  dispositions 
were  made.  But,  owing  to  intervening  woods  and 
hills,  the  opposing  bodies  soon  lost  sight  of  each 
other,  and  an  adroit  movement  on  the  part  of  Brant 
gave  him  an  advantage  which  it  was  impossible  for 
the  Americans  to  regain.  Anticipating  the  design 
of  Hathorn,  the  moment  the  Americans  were  out  of 
sight  Brant  wheeled  to  the  right,  and,  by  thridding  a 
ravine  across  which  Hathorn  had  passed,  threw  him 
self  into  his  rear,  by  which  means  he  was  enabled 
deliberately  to  select  his  ground  for  a  battle  and 
form  an  ambuscade.  Disappointed  in  not  finding 
the  enemy,  the  Americans  were  brought  to  a  stand, 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  379 

when  the  enemy  disclosed  himself  partially,  in  a 
quarter  altogether  unexpected.  According  to  the 
American  account,  the  lirst  shot  was  fired  upon  an 
Indian,  who  was  known,  and  who  was  mounted  upon 
a  horse  stolen  at  Minisink.  The  Indian  fell,  and  the 
firing  soon  became  general :  the  enemy  contriving, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  engagement,  to  cut  oft"  from 
the  main  body  of  Hathorn's  troops  a  detachment 
comprising  one  third  of  his  whole  number.  The 
conflict  was  long  and  obstinate.  The  number  of  the 
enemy  being  several  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
Goshen  militia,  the  latter  were  surrounded,  and  ulti 
mately  hemmed  within  the  circumference  of  an  acre 
of  ground.  Being  short  of  ammunition,  Hathorn's 
orders  were  strict  that  no  man  should  fire  until  very 
sure  that  his  powder  would  not  be  lost.  The  battle 
commenced  about  11  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
was  maintained  until  the  going  down  of  the  sun ; 
both  parties  fighting  after  the  Indian  fashion,  every 
man  for  himself,  and  the  whole  keeping  up  an  ir 
regular  fire  from  behind  rocks  and  trees  as  best  they 
could.  About  sunset  the  ammunition  of  the  militia 
was  expended,  and  the  survivors  attempted  to  re 
treat,  but  many  of  them  were  cut  down.  Doctor 
Tusten  was  engaged  behind  a  cliff  of  rocks  in  dress 
ing  the  wounded  when  the  retreat  commenced. 
There  were  seventeen  disabled  men  under  his  care 
at  the  moment,  whose  cries  for  protection  and  mercy 
were  of  the  most  moving  description.  The  Indians 
fell  upon  them,  however,  and  they  all,  together  with 
the  doctor,  perished  under  the  tomahawk.  Among 
the  slain  were  many  of  the  first  citizens  of  Goshen  ; 
and  of  the  whole  number  that  went  forth,  only  about 
thirty  returned  to  tell  the  melancholy  story.*  Sev- 

*  Among'  the  slain  were  Jones,  Little,  Duncan,  Wisner,  Vail,  Towns- 
nd,  and  Knapp.  In  1822  the  people  of  Orange  county  collected  the 
fcones,  which  until  then  had  been  left  to  bleach  on  the  battle-field,  and 
r.auscd  them  to  be  buried.  The  funeral  procession  numbered  twelve 
thousand  people,  among  whom  was  Major  Poppino,  one  of  the  survivers 
of  the  battle,  then  nearly  one  hunded  years  old 


380  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

eral  of  the  fugitives  were  shot  while  attempting  to 
escape  by  swimming  the  Delaware. 

Brant  has  been  severely  censured  for  the  cruel 
ties  perpetrated,  or  alleged  to  have  been  perpetrated, 
in  this  battle.  He  always  maintained  that  he  had 
been  unjustly  blamed,  and  that  his  conduct  had  been 
the  subject  of  unjust  reproach.  He  stated  that, 
having  ascertained  that  the  Goshen  militia  were  in 
pursuit  of  him,  determined  to  give  him  battle,  he,  of 
course,  prepared  himself  for  the  reception.  Still, 
having  obtained  the  supplies  he  needed,  his  own  ob 
ject  was  accomplished.  He  also  stated,  that  on  the 
near  approach  of  the  Americans,  he  rose,  and  pre 
sented  himself  openly  and  fairly  to  their  view,  ad 
dressed  himself  to  their  commanding  officer,  and  de 
manded  their  surrender,  promising,  at  the  same  time, 
to  treat  them  kindly  as  prisoners  of  war.  He  as 
sured  them,  frankly,  that  his  force  in  ambush  was 
sufficient  to  overpower  and  destroy  them ;  that  then, 
before  any  blood  had  been  shed,  he  could  control 
his  warriors ;  but  should  the  battle  commence,  he 
could  not  answer  for  the  consequences.  But,  he 
said,  while  he  was  thus  parleying  with  them,  he  was 
fired  upon,  and  narrowly  escaped  being  shot  down, 
the  ball  piercing  the  outer  fold  of  his  belt.  Imme 
diately  upon  receiving  the  shot,  he  retired,  and  se 
creted  himself  among  his  warriors.  The  militia, 
imboldened  by  his  disappearance,  seeing  no  other 
enemy,  and  disbelieving  what  he  had  told  them, 
rushed  forward  heedlessly  until  they  wyere  com 
pletely  within  his  power.  In  crossing  a  creek  they 
had  broken  their  order,  and  before  they  could  form 
again  on  the  other  side,  Brant  gave  the  well-known 
signal  of  the  war-whoop.  Quick  as  the  lightning's 
(lash,  his  dark  cloud  of  warriors  were  upon  theii 
feet.  Having  fired  once,  they  sprang  forward,  toma 
hawk  in  hand.  The  conflict  was  fierce  and  bloody. 
Few  escaped,  and  several  of  the  prisoners  were 
killed.  There  was  one  who,  during  the  battle,  saved 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  8 

himself  by  means  which  Brant  said  were  dishonour 
able.  By  some  process  or  other,  though  not  a  Free 
mason,  he  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  master 
mason's  grand  hailing  signal  of  distress  ;  and  having 
been  informed  that  Brant  was  a  member  of  the 
brotherhood,  he  gave  the  mystic  sign.  Faithful  to 
his  pledge,  the  chieftain  interposed  and  saved  his 
life.  Discovering  the  imposture  afterward,  he  was 
very  indignant.  Still,  he  spared  his  life,  and  the 
prisoner  ultimately  returned  to  his  friends  after  a 
long  captivity. 

There  was  another  occurrence  of  deep  and  thrill 
ing  interest  connected  with  this  battle,  the  particu 
lars  of  which  were  related  in  after  years  by  Brant 
himself,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  city  of  New- York. 
Among  those  who  were  grievously  wounded  was 
Lieutenant-colonel  Gabriel  Wisner,  a  gentleman  of 
great  respectability,  a  magistrate,  serving  among 
the  Goshen  volunteers.  In  surveying  the  battle 
field,  the  situation  of  Wisner  arrested  the  attention 
of  the  Indian  commander,  who  examined  his  con 
dition.  The  chief  saw  that  he  was  wounded  past 
hope  of  recovery ;  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  in  the 
full  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  was  even  able 
to  converse.  Believing  his  case  to  be  altogether 
beyond  the  power  of  medical  and  surgical  skill,  and 
having  no  means  of  carrying  him  away,  Brant  re 
flected  a  moment  upon  his  own  course  of  duty.  He 
was  disposed  to  save  his  life  if  he  could,  and  yet 
felt  that  it  was  impossible.  To  leave  him  thus  help 
less  and  alone  upon  the  field,  in  the  possession  of 
his  senses  to  a  degree  enabling  him  to  appreciate 
all  the  horrors  of  his  situation,  would  be  the  height 
of  cruelty.  Added  to  which  was  the  moral  certainty 
that  the  wolves  abounding  in  the  forest,  guided  by 
the  scent  of  blood,  would  soon  be  gorging  them 
selves  alike  upon  the  wounded  and  the  dead.  The 
thought,  therefore,  that  Wisner  might  be  torn  in 
pieces  while  yet  alive,  seemed  to  him  even  more 


382  BORDER    WARS    OF    THE 

than  savage  cruelty.  Under  these  distressing  cir 
cumstances  and  considerations,  the  chief  argued 
with  himself  that  true  humanity  required  a  speedy 
termination  of  his  sufferings.  Having  formed  this 
conclusion,  the  next  point  was  to  compass  his  death 
without  inflicting  additional  torture  upon  his  feel 
ings.  With  this  view,  he  engaged  Wisner  in  con 
versation,  and,  while  diverting  his  attention,  struck 
him  dead  in  an  instant,  and  unperceived,  with  his 
hatchet.  It  was  but  a  savage  exhibition  of  human 
ity  ;  but  there  was  benevolence  in  the  intention, 
however  strangely  reasoned  ;  and  the  motive  of 
the  final  blow  is  to  be  applauded,  notwithstanding 
the  shudder  caused  by  its  contemplation. 

From  Minisink,  by  a  rapid  movement,  Brant  fell 
upon  a  settlement  on  the  south  side  of  the  Mohawk, 
where,  on  the  2d  of  August,  he  made  a  few  prison 
ers,  the  name  of  one  of  whom  was  House.  This 
man,  with  his  companions,  was  carried  back  into 
the  woods,  and  left  in  charge  of  the  Indians,  while 
Brant,  with  four  or  five  of  his  warriors,  went  off 
upon  some  secret  enterprise.  On  the  fourth  day  after 
his  absence,  he  returned,  attended  by  his  four  war 
riors,  but  on  horseback  himself,  having  been  wound 
ed  in  the  foot  by  a  musket-shot.  The  wound,  how 
ever,  was  not  like  that  of  Achilles,  in  the  heel,  but 
by  a  buckshot  in  the  ball  of  the  great  toe,  and  there 
fore  in  a  place  less  equivocal  for  a  soldier's  honour. 
They  then  commenced  their  march  in  the  direction 
of  Tioga  ;  but  as  House  became  too  lame  by  walk 
ing  to  continue  the  journey  on  foot,  the  Indians 
proposed  killing  him.  To  this  Brant  objected  ;  and 
having  been  acquainted  with  House  before  the  war, 
he  released  him  on  condition  of  his  taking  an  oath 
of  neutrality,  which  was  written  by  the  chief  in  the 
Indian  language.  House  signed  the  oath,  and  Brant 
witnessed  it.  He  was  then  released,  and  being  some 
where  in  the  vicinity  of  Otsego  Lake,  where  Gen 
eral  Clinton  was  then  making  preparations  for  his 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  383 

celebrated  descent  of  the  Susquehanna,  House  came 
into  Clinton's  camp  on  the  8th  of  August,  the  day 
previous  to  his  embarcation. 

Contemporaneously  with  these  occurrences,  and 
while,  as  will  subsequently  appear,  the  attention  of 
the  American  officers  was  directed  to  more  impor 
tant  movements,  the  Indians  and  Tories  once  more 
broke  in  upon  the  Pennsylvania  border,  in  North 
ampton,  Lyconia,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Sunbury. 
In  a  succession  of  petty  affairs  between  the  1st  and 
21st  of  July,  several  neighbourhoods  were  destroyed 
and  mills  burned.  On  the  17th,  all  the  principal 
houses  in  the  township  of  Munsey  were  burned. 
Two  persons  were  killed  on  that  day,  and  four  had 
been  killed  a  few  days  previous,  besides  several 
taken  prisoners.  On  the  20th,  three  men  were 
killed  by  a  small  party  hovering  about  Freeland's 
Fort,  situated  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Susque 
hanna,  seventeen  miles  from  Sunbury.  On  the  28th, 
five  days  after  the  affair  of  Minisink,  this  little  de 
fence,  which  was  garrisoned  by  only  thirty  men, 
and  about  fifty  women  and  children,  who  had  sought 
refuge  within  its  walls,  was  invested  by  one  of  the 
M'Donalds,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  Indians,  and 
one  hundred  troops,  calling  themselves  regulars. 
But,  although  wearing  the  British  uniform,  it  was 
believed  that  they  were  American  Loyalists.  The 
enemy  met  with  less  resistance  during  this  irruption 
than  would  have  been  the  case,  but  for  the  circum 
stance  that  the  greater  part  of  the  men  had  been 
draughted  for  the  boat  service  of  General  Sullivan, 
who  was  then  at  Wyoming,  preparing  to  enter  the 
Seneca  country.  Fort  Freeland  was  too  weak  of 
itself,  and  too  weakly  garrisoned,  to  hold  out  long 
against  such  a  disparity  of  force.  Captain  Hawkins 
Boone,  a  brave  officer,  stationed  with  thirty  men  at 
a  distance  of  some  miles,  marched  to  the  relief  of 
the  fort  immediately  on  hearing  of  the  investment 
The  garrison  had  surrendered  before  his  arrival 


384  BORDER    WARS     OF    THE 

Boone,  nevertheless,  gave  battle  to  the  enemy ;  but, 
overpowered  by  numbers,  he  was  slain,  together 
with  eighteen  of  his  men,  whose  scalps  were  car 
ried  as  trophies  into  the  fort.  Two  other  officers, 
Captains  Dougherty  and  Hamilton,  were  also  killed. 
By  the  terms  of  capitulation,  M'Donald  stipulated 
to  spare  the  women  and  children,  and  allow  them 
to  depart.  The  fort,  and  the  houses  iu  :ts  vicinity, 
were  then  burned. 

Meantime,  the  Shawanese  were  continuing  their 
depredations  upon  the  Ohio  border  of  Virginia,  with 
results  certainly  not  unfavourable  to  the  former. 

With  these  incidents  closes  the  present  volume. 
The  second  will  open  with  a  narrative  of  the  most 
formidable  Indian  campaign  undertaken  during  the 
contest  for  American  Independence. 


END   OF  VOL.   1. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 

Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


9.3  '73-2PM28 


.ii4  1? 


nr.T 


I  ~      •  • 


OTflisc  MOV  0  5  1987 


NOV  27 1987      -         988  „ 

•  -.-.  •• .-    '••'•• 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


€004125144 


1O6 


M90350 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


